Sheet processing device, sheet laminator, image forming apparatus, and image forming system

ABSTRACT

A sheet processing device sandwiches a sheet-shaped medium in a two-ply sheet in which two sheets are overlaid and partially bonded. The sheet processing device includes a separator, a conveyor, and a switching member. The separator separates the two sheets of the two-ply sheet. The conveyor is disposed downstream from the separator in a sheet conveyance direction and conveys the two-ply sheet. The switching member is disposed downstream from the conveyor in the sheet conveyance direction. The switching member switches a conveyance path of the two-ply sheet to convey the two-ply sheet to a fixing path on which fixing processing is performed on the two-ply sheet or a non-fixing path on which no fixing processing is performed on the two-ply sheet.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-082004, filed onMay 7, 2020, No. 2020-087348, filed on May 19, 2020, and No.2020-102358, filed on Jun. 12, 2020, in the Japan Patent Office, theentire disclosure of each of which is hereby incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

This disclosure relates to a sheet processing device, a sheet laminator,an image forming apparatus, and an image forming system.

Related Art

There is known a lamination technology of inserting an inner sheet(e.g., paper or photo) between a two-ply lamination sheet or laminationfilm (e.g., a lamination pouch or lamination folder) and applying heatand pressure to the two-ply lamination sheet to bond the two-plylamination sheet. The two-ply sheet is made of two sheets (plies) bonded(sealed) on one side as if one sheet is folded.

In a laminate processing machine, for example, an operation ofsandwiching inner sheet (paper, photograph or the like) between films ismanually performed one by one. However, it is troublesome to peel off afilm by hand due to poor slip due to the presence of an adhesive layeron the inside of the film, and it is also troublesome to hold a sheet orthe like to be held in an accurate position after peeling off. Further,when one sheet was prepared and set in the processing machine(laminator), the laminate processing took 30 to 60 seconds, so it isnecessary to wait until the next process. As a result, a person cannotleave a laminate processing device for a long time even when the personlaminates only several tens of sheets. The person needs to repeat worksof sandwiching an inner sheet, set a lamination sheet and performslaminate processing, and sandwiching the sheet while waiting. There wasa problem that the user had to repeat the work, which required time andmanpower. Further, if it is attempted to avoid it, a dedicated laminatordevice using a roll film is needed. However, such a dedicated laminatordevice is very expensive (hundreds of thousands of yen to millions ofyen).

Further, in a film separating device that automatically separates afilm, it is desired to perform troublesome pinching work by automation.However, there is a demand that the laminate processing be carried outeven on an offline machine in consideration of productivity.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a sheetprocessing device that sandwiches a sheet-shaped medium in a two-plysheet in which two sheets are overlaid and partially bonded. The sheetprocessing device includes a separator, a conveyor, and a switchingmember. The separator separates the two sheets of the two-ply sheet. Theconveyor is disposed downstream from the separator in a sheet conveyancedirection and conveys the two-ply sheet. The switching member isdisposed downstream from the conveyor in the sheet conveyance direction.The switching member switches a conveyance path of the two-ply sheet toconvey the two-ply sheet to a fixing path on which fixing processing isperformed on the two-ply sheet or a non-fixing path on which no fixingprocessing is performed on the two-ply sheet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The aforementioned and other aspects, features, and advantages of thepresent disclosure would be better understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an overall configuration of asheet processing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of asheet laminator including a sheet processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an operation panel provided in a sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view illustrating a sheet laminator providedwith a detector that detects an abnormality of heat-pressing rollers,according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an operation panel provided in a sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to avariation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in a sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in a sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in a sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 24 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of asheet processing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 25 is a schematic view illustrating a main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 25;

FIG. 27 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 27;

FIG. 29 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 28;

FIG. 30 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 29;

FIG. 31 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 30;

FIG. 32 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 32;

FIG. 34 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 33;

FIGS. 35A and 35B are schematic views, each illustrating the main partof the sheet processing device, subsequent to the state in FIG. 34;

FIG. 36 is a schematic view illustrating one of separation clawsprovided in the sheet processing device;

FIGS. 37A and 37B are schematic views, each illustrating an example ofthe drive configuration of the separation claw illustrated in FIG. 36;

FIG. 38 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which theseparation claws are inserted into a lamination sheet;

FIG. 39 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws and thelamination sheet in a state illustrated in FIG. 31;

FIG. 40 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws and thelamination sheet in another state illustrated in FIG. 31;

FIGS. 41A, 41B, and 41C are schematic views, each illustrating a sheetguide passage of two sheets separated from a lamination sheet, accordingto a variation of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 42A and 42B are schematic side views illustrating sheets conveyedto a heat-pressing conveyance path and a non-heat-pressing conveyancepath 126;

FIG. 43 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of asheet processing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 44 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of asheet processing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 45A and 45B are perspective views of a sheet ejection portion ofthe sheet processing device illustrated in FIG. 44;

FIG. 46 is a schematic side view illustrating a lift that raises andlowers a sheet ejection tray;

FIGS. 47A, 47B, and 47C are schematic plan views illustrating a sheetsorting mechanism that sorts sheets when the sheets are ejected to asheet ejection tray;

FIG. 48 is a schematic perspective view of lamination sheets sorted bythe sheet sorting mechanism of FIGS. 47A, 47B, and 47C;

FIG. 49 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C is a flowchart illustrating aseries of operations from feeding a sheet, inserting an inner sheet, andlaminating the sheet with the inner sheet being inserted;

FIG. 51 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of asheet processing device according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 52 is a schematic view illustrating a main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 51;

FIG. 53 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 52;

FIG. 54 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 54;

FIG. 56 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 55;

FIG. 57 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 56;

FIG. 58 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 57;

FIG. 59 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 58;

FIG. 60 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 59;

FIG. 61 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device in a state subsequent to the state in FIG. 60;

FIGS. 62A and 62B are schematic views, each illustrating the main partof the sheet processing device, in a state subsequent to the state inFIG. 61;

FIG. 63 is a schematic view illustrating one of separation clawsprovided in the sheet processing device;

FIGS. 64A and 64B are schematic views, each illustrating an example ofthe drive configuration of the separation claw illustrated in FIG. 63;

FIG. 65 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which theseparation claws are inserted into a lamination sheet;

FIG. 66 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws and thelamination sheet in a state illustrated in FIG. 58;

FIG. 67 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws and thelamination sheet in another state illustrated in FIG. 58;

FIGS. 68A, 68B, and 68C are schematic views, each illustrating a sheetguide passage of two sheets separated from a lamination sheet, accordingto a variation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 69 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of anexample of a sheet laminator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 70 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 71 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a variation ofan image forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72C is a flowchart illustrating aseries of operations from feeding a sheet, inserting an inner sheet, andlaminating the sheet with the inner sheet being inserted;

FIG. 73 is a schematic view illustrating an image forming systemincluding a sheet laminator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 74 is a diagram illustrating an example of a function selectionscreen displayed on an image forming apparatus according to the presentembodiment;

FIG. 75 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of asheet laminator including the sheet processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 76 is a diagram illustrating an example of an insert processingsetting screen displayed on an image forming apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 77 is a diagram illustrating an error display displayed on anoperation panel of an image forming apparatus;

FIG. 78 is a diagram illustrating an error display displayed on anoperation panel of an image forming apparatus; and

FIGS. 79A and 79B is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations inan image forming system from the selection of laminate processing orinsert processing to the ejection of a sheet to a post-processingdevice.

The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of thepresent disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scopethereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn toscale unless explicitly noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For a lamination sheet in which two sheets are connected at one side,for example, a laminator separates the two sheets from each other andinserts an inner sheet between the two sheets. Since the sheets can beseparated off automatically, the work efficiency of the user isenhanced. However, the user's demand is not met that the laminateprocessing be performed on another offline machine in consideration ofproductivity.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure describedbelow, in a sheet processing device in which a sheet-shaped medium issandwiched between two stacked sheets, the productivity of the sheetprocessing work can be enhanced.

In such a laminator, when the laminate processing is to be performedeven on an offline machine in consideration of productivity, forexample, it is conceivable that a sheet ejection destination having afixing mechanism, a sheet ejection destination having no fixingmechanism, and a mechanism for switching the sheet ejection destinationsare disposed downstream of an inner-sheet insertion mechanism, to ejecta sheet with an inner sheet inserted without fixing processing. However,providing a plurality of conveyance paths and sheet ejection mechanismsmay cause an increase in the cost of the device and an increase in thesize of the device.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure describedblow, a heat-pressed sheet and a non-heat-pressed sheet are ejected to acommon stacker, thus allowing the cost reduction and downsizing of asheet processing device.

Further, when lamination films are fed from a sheet feeding portion ofan image forming apparatus, heat may affect the lamination film passingthrough a heat fixing device and the films may undesirably stick to eachother.

For example, a laminator separates two films of a lamination film thatare connected at one side, and inserts an inner sheet between the twofilms. However, in such a laminator, the lamination film into which theinner sheet is inserted is not ejected without performing laminateprocessing, and does not have a function as an inserter. Even if thiswere possible, a film would have to be ejected through a heatingsection, the film could only be ejected after the heating section hadcooled to prevent films from sticking to each other, which would not beeasy for the user to operate.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure describedbelow, there can be provided a laminator that has a plurality ofpost-processing functions, prevents sheets from sticking to each other,and is compact and easy to use.

In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specificterminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosureof this patent specification is not intended to be limited to thespecific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that eachspecific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in asimilar manner and achieve similar results.

Although the embodiments are described with technical limitations withreference to the attached drawings, such description is not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure and all of the components or elementsdescribed in the embodiments of this disclosure are not necessarilyindispensable.

Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure aredescribed below. In the drawings for explaining the followingembodiments, the same reference codes are allocated to elements (membersor components) having the same function or shape and redundantdescriptions thereof are omitted below.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a general arrangement of a sheetprocessing device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.A sheet processing device 100 according to the present embodiment is toseparate two sheets (plies) of a two-ply sheet (hereinafter referred toas a lamination sheet S) and to insert and sandwich a sheet-shapedmedium (hereinafter referred to as an inner sheet P) between theseparated sheets of the two-ply sheet.

The lamination sheet S is a two-ply sheet in which two sheets areoverlapped and bonded together at a portion (or a side) of the two-plysheet. For example, there is a two-ply sheet in which a first side is atransparent sheet such as a transparent polyester sheet and the oppositeside is a transparent or opaque sheet and bonded to the other sheet onone side of the two-ply sheet. The two-ply sheet also includes alamination film.

The inner sheet P is an example of the sheet medium that is insertedinto the two-ply sheet. The sheet medium may be, for example, thickpaper, postcards, envelopes, plain paper, thin paper, coated paper, artpaper, tracing paper, and overhead projector (OHP) transparencies.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a sheet processing device 100 includes a sheettray 102, a pickup roller 105, a conveyance roller pair 107, and a paththrough an inner sheet P is reversed. The sheet tray 102 is a firstsheet loader on which inner sheets P are placed. The pickup roller 105feeds an inner sheet P from the sheet tray 102. The sheet processingdevice 100 further includes a sheet feed tray 103 and a pickup roller106. The sheet feed tray 103 is a second sheet loader on which sheets Sare placed. The pickup roller 106 feeds a lamination sheet S from thesheet feed tray 103.

The sheet processing device 100 has a sheet feed path and a conveyancepath that are different from each other. In order to enhanceproductivity, the sheet processing device 100 conveys a lamination sheetS in the shortest distance through a straight path for conveying thelamination sheet S to be separated. Since it is necessary to wait untila lamination sheet separating operation is completed, the inner sheet Pis separately fed in advance and is made to stand by in a reversibleconveyance path in which a standby distance is ensured.

In order to achieve both miniaturization and productivity enhancement,the path from the pickup roller 106 for sheet transfer to an entranceroller pair 108 is shorter than the path from the pickup roller 105 forinner sheet conveyance to the entrance roller pair 108. The paths meetupstream of the entrance roller pair 108.

A lamination sheet S into which an inner sheet has been inserted isejected and stacked on the sheet ejection tray 104 by an exit rollerpair 113 or a roller disposed downstream from the exit roller pair 113.The path for reversing the inner sheet P allows the inner sheet P to beejected and stacked in the sheet ejection tray 104 in the order of pagesstacked in the sheet tray 102.

A conveyance sensor C1 is disposed downstream from the conveyance rollerpair 107 in the sheet conveyance direction to detect the conveyanceposition of an inner sheet P. A conveyance sensor C2 is disposeddownstream from the pickup roller 106 in the sheet conveyance directionto detect the conveyance position of a lamination sheet S.

The sheet processing device 100 includes an entrance roller pair 108 asa first conveyor, a winding roller 109 as a rotator, the exit rollerpair 113 as a second conveyor, and the sheet ejection tray 104. Theentrance roller pair 108, the winding roller 109, the exit roller pair113, and the sheet ejection tray 104 are disposed downstream from theconveyance roller pair 107 and the pickup roller 106 in the sheetconveyance direction. The sheet processing device 100 further includes aseparation claw 116 between the winding roller 109 and the exit rollerpair 113. The separation claw 116 is movable in the width direction ofthe lamination sheet S. The separation claw 116 is an example of aseparator that separates the lamination sheet S.

A conveyance sensor C3 that detects the positions of a lamination sheetS and an inner sheet P being conveyed is disposed downstream from theentrance roller pair 108 in the sheet conveyance direction. Anabnormality detection sensor C4 that detects the state of the laminationsheet S is disposed downstream from the winding roller 109 in the sheetconveyance direction. A conveyance sensor C5 that detects the positionof the lamination sheet S being conveyed is disposed downstream from theexit roller pair 113 in the sheet conveyance direction.

The pickup roller 105, the conveyance roller pair 107, the entranceroller pair 108, and the winding roller 109 are examples of a firstfeeder. The pickup roller 106, the entrance roller pair 108 and thewinding roller 109 are examples of a second feeder.

An operation panel 10 is provided on the exterior of the sheetprocessing device 100. The operation panel 10 serves as adisplay-operation device to display information of the sheet processingdevice 100 and receives input of the operation of the sheet processingdevice 100. The operation panel 10 also serves as a notification deviceto output a perceptual signal to a user. As an alternative, anotification device other than the operation panel 10 may be separatelyprovided in the sheet processing device 100.

The sheet processing device 100 according to the present embodimentloads lamination sheets S and inner sheets P on separate trays. As alamination sheet S is conveyed in the sheet processing device 100, thesheet processing device 100 separates and opens the lamination sheet Sinto two sheets and inserts the inner sheet P into an opening of thelamination sheet S. The exit roller pair 113 ejects and stacks thelamination sheet S, in which the inner sheet P has been inserted, ontothe sheet ejection tray 104.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 2, each of theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113 is, for example,two rollers paired with each other and driven by a driver such as amotor. The controller 800 controls the driver to control rotations ofthe entrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The entranceroller pair 108 is driven to rotate in one direction. The exit rollerpair 113 rotates in forward and reverse directions, thereby nipping andconveying the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P.

The entrance roller pair 108 conveys the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P toward the exit roller pair 113. The sheet conveyancedirection indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2 is referred to as a forwardconveyance direction or a direction A.

The exit roller pair 113 can switch the direction of rotation betweenthe forward direction and the reverse direction. The exit roller pair113 conveys the lamination sheet S nipped by the rollers of the exitroller pair 113 toward the sheet ejection tray 104 (see FIG. 1) in theforward conveyance direction and also conveys the lamination sheet Stoward the winding roller 109 in the direction opposite the forwardconveyance direction (to convey the lamination sheet S in reverse). Thesheet conveyance direction toward the winding roller 109, which isindicated by arrow B in FIG. 4 and a direction opposite to the forwardconveyance direction, is referred to as a reverse conveyance directionor a direction B.

The sheet processing device 100 is provided with the winding roller 109as a rotator and the separation claw 116 that are disposed between theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The windingroller 109 is driven by a driver such as a motor to rotate in theforward and reverse directions. The direction of rotation of the windingroller 109 is switchable between the forward direction (clockwisedirection) and the reverse direction (counterclockwise direction). Thecontroller 800 controls the driver to control rotations of the windingroller 109 and operations of the separation claw 116.

The winding roller 109 includes a roller 111 and a movable gripper 110disposed on the roller 111 to grip the lamination sheet S. The movablegripper 110 grips the leading end of the lamination sheet S togetherwith the roller 111. The gripper 110 may be integrated with the outercircumference of the roller 111, or may be a separate component. Thecontroller 800 controls a driver to move the gripper 110.

Next, a description is given of a series of operations performed in thesheet processing device 100, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 14. The seriesof operations performed by the sheet processing device 100 indicates theoperations from separating the lamination sheet S to inserting the innersheet P into the lamination sheet S. The controller 800 controls theseries of operations performed by the sheet processing device 100. InFIGS. 3 to 14, elements identical to those illustrated in FIG. 1 or 2are given identical reference numerals, and the descriptions thereof areomitted.

In FIG. 1, the lamination sheets S are stacked on the sheet feed tray103 such that a part of the bonded side of the lamination sheet S islocated downstream from the pickup roller 106 in the sheet feeddirection (sheet conveyance direction). The sheet processing device 100picks the lamination sheet S on the sheet feed tray 103 by the pickuproller 106 and conveys the lamination sheet S toward the entrance rollerpair 108.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the entrance roller pair 108 conveys thelamination sheet S toward the winding roller 109. In the sheetprocessing device 100, the entrance roller pair 108 conveys thelamination sheet S with the bonded end, which is one of four sides ofthe lamination sheet S, as the downstream side in the forward conveyancedirection A as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 temporarily stops conveyance of the laminationsheet S when the trailing end of the lamination sheet S in the forwardconveyance direction has passed the winding roller 109. Note that theseoperations are performed by conveying the lamination sheet S from theconveyance sensor C3 by a specified amount in response to the timing atwhich the conveyance sensor C3 detected the leading end of thelamination sheet S.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the gripper 110 to open and the exit rollerpair 113 to rotate in the reverse direction to convey the laminationsheet S in the reverse conveyance direction (sheet conveyance directionB) toward the opened portion of the gripper 110.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to stop rotatingto stop conveyance of the lamination sheet S when the end of thelamination sheet S is inserted into the opened portion of the gripper110 and causes the driver to close the gripper 110 to grip the end ofthe lamination sheet S. Note that these operations are performed whenthe lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specified amount.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 to wind the lamination sheetS around the winding roller 109. Here, the lamination sheet S is woundaround the winding roller 109 from the side where the two sheets of thelamination sheet S are overlapped but not bonded.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, when the lamination sheet S that is thetwo-ply sheet is wound around the winding roller 109, a windingcircumferential length difference is created between the two sheets inthe amount of winding of the lamination sheet S around the circumferenceof the winding roller 109. There is a surplus of the sheet on the innercircumferential side to the center of the winding roller 109, whichgenerates a slack toward the bonded end. As a result, a space is createdbetween the two sheets constructing the two-ply sheet. As the separationclaws 116 are inserted into the space generated as described above, fromboth sides of the lamination sheet S, the space between the two sheetsis reliably maintained. Note that these operations are performed byconveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by aspecified amount in response to the timing at which the conveyancesensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

With the separation claws 116 inserted in the space in the laminationsheet S, the controller 800 in the sheet processing device 100 causesthe driver to rotate the winding roller 109 in the clockwise direction(see FIG. 7). The controller 800 then causes the space generated in thelamination sheet S to shift to the trailing end of the lamination sheetS in the forward conveyance direction (sheet conveyance direction A), asillustrated in FIG. 8. After the winding roller 109 has been rotated bya specified amount, the controller 800 causes the driver to open thegripper 110. As a result, the trailing end of the lamination sheet S isseparated into the upper and lower sheets.

In this state, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100causes the driver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the laminationsheet S and to further move the separation claws 116 in the widthdirection of the lamination sheet S to separate the whole area of thetrailing end of the lamination sheet S. Note that these operations areperformed by conveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensorC5 by a specified amount in response to the timing at which theconveyance sensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

In the state illustrated in FIG. 8, as illustrate in FIG. 9, the sheetprocessing device 100 rotates the exit roller pair 113 counterclockwiseto convey the sheet S in the reverse conveyance direction (indicated byarrow B). The branch claw 118 can be switched at the timing at which theleading end of the sheet S passes through the conveyance sensor C5. Whenthe lamination sheet S is conveyed to the non-fixing path, the branchclaw 118 remains at the position illustrated in FIG. 8. However, whenthe lamination sheet S is conveyed to the fixing path 128, the branchclaw 118 is switched to the fixing path side.

The switching of the branch claw 118 may be completed in a period fromwhen the leading end of the sheet passes through the conveyance sensorC5 to when the leading end of the sheet reaches the branch claw 118after insertion of the inner sheet. If the branch claw 118 is switchedbefore this timing, the lamination sheet S before insertion of the innersheet enters the fixing path and a part of the sheet is fixed. If theposition of the fixing unit is disposed further downstream in order toprevent such a failure, the size of the sheet processing device would beincreased.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, the separation claws 116 guide the two sheetsseparated from the lamination sheet S in the upper and lower directions,respectively, and thus the two sheets are fully separated. Then, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driver totemporarily stop the conveyance of the lamination sheet S, so that thebonded portion of the lamination sheet S is held (nipped) by the exitroller pair 113. Accordingly, one end of the lamination sheet S isbonded as the bonded side of the lamination sheet S and the other end ofthe lamination sheet S is opened largely.

Note that these operations are performed by conveying the laminationsheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by a specified amount in responseto the timing at which the conveyance sensor C5 detected the leading endof the lamination sheet S.

FIGS. 10 to 12 illustrate the operation of the sheet processing device100 when the lamination sheet S is conveyed to the fixing path 128 whenthe user selects the laminate processing mode on the operation panel 10.Next, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the sheet processing device 100 rotatesthe entrance roller pair 108 and ejects the inner sheet P conveyed fromthe sheet tray 102 (see FIG. 1) by the pickup roller 105 and theconveyance roller pair 107 toward the exit roller pair 113 in theforward conveyance direction (sheet conveyance direction A).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 11, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to rotate so thatthe lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P converge to insert theinner sheet PM into the lamination sheet S from the open portion (on theother end) of the lamination sheet S.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 12, the exit roller pair 113 of the sheetprocessing device 100 conveys the lamination sheet S in which the innersheet P is inserted, in the forward conveyance direction (sheetconveyance direction A). Thus, the two sheets of the lamination sheet Sare overlapped one on another again so as to close the open portion ofthe lamination sheet S. The lamination sheet S in which the inner sheetP is sandwiched is conveyed to the fixing unit having heat-pressingrollers 120 by the exit roller pair 113 or a roller disposed downstreamfrom the exit roller pair 113, and is ejected and stacked onto the sheetejection tray 104 (see FIG. 1). FIGS. 2 to 12 illustrate a basicseparate operation and a conveying operation to a fixing device Md(fixing unit) in the case of performing the laminate processing.

As described above, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device100 according to the present embodiment causes the driver to open thelamination sheet S so as to insert and nip the inner sheet P into thelamination sheet S. Accordingly, since the configuration of the sheetprocessing device 100 is simpler than the configuration of a typicalsheet laminator employing a vacuum device, the entire sheet processingdevice has a simpler and smaller configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the sheet processing device 100 according tothe present embodiment loads the lamination sheet S and the inner sheetPM on separate trays and feeds and conveys the lamination sheet S andthe inner sheet PM separately. Accordingly, the convenience is enhancedwithout loading the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P in thepredetermined order.

On the other hand, when the user selects an inner-sheet insertion modeon the operation panel 10, the sheet processing device 100 operates asillustrated in FIGS. 13 to 14. From FIGS. 2 to 9, the sheet processingdevice 100 operates in the same manner. However, as illustrated in FIG.13, in order to convey the inner sheet P to the non-fixing path 129, theinner sheet P is conveyed as it is without switching the branch claw118.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 14, in a state in which both the laminationsheet S and the inner sheet P are gripped (nipped), the lamination sheetS and the inner sheet P are conveyed by the exit roller pair 113, sothat the inner sheet P is inserted into the two sheets S. Subsequently,the lamination sheet S is conveyed to the non-fixing path 129 that doesnot have the heat-pressing rollers 120, and is ejected and stacked onthe sheet ejection tray 126 (see FIG. 15) to complete the sheetejection. In this way, the user can obtain the sheet in the state wherethe inner sheet is inserted, and the sheet can be fixed on an offlinemachine.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of anexample of a sheet laminator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, including the sheet processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. The sheet laminator 200 includesthe sheet processing device 100 described above. The sheet laminator 200includes separation claws 116, an exit roller pair 113, and a branchclaw 118. The separation claws 116 are separator that separates thelamination sheet S. The exit roller pair 113 is disposed downstream fromthe separation claws 116 and is a conveyor that conveys the laminationsheet S. The branch claw 118 is a switching member that switches theconveyance path of the lamination sheet S. The branch claw 118 causesthe lamination sheet S to be conveyed to the fixing path 128 on whichfixing is performed on the lamination sheet S or the non-fixing path 129(see FIGS. 12 and 14) on which fixing is not performed on the laminationsheet S. Accordingly, when the user selects the non-fixing mode(inner-sheet insertion mode), the lamination sheet S can be ejectedwithout being fixed using the non-fixing path 129 with the inner sheet Pinserted in the lamination sheet S. Thus, the insertion of the innersheet is performed by automation without any trouble, the user canperform the laminating work on another offline machine, thus allowing aparallel work and enhancing the productivity of work.

The sheet laminator 200 includes an ejection roller 121, a sheetejection tray 104, and a sheet ejection tray 126. The ejection roller121 is disposed downstream from heat-pressing rollers 120 in the sheetconveyance direction. The sheet ejection tray 104 stacks laminationsheets S conveyed through the fixing path 128. The sheet ejection tray126 stacks sheets S conveyed through the non-fixing path 129 not havingthe heat-pressing rollers 120.

The sheet laminator 200 performs a series of operations, in this order,of feeding the lamination sheet S, separating the lamination sheet S,inserting the inner sheet P into the lamination sheet S, and laminatingthe lamination sheet S with the inner sheet P being inserted, byapplication of heat and pressure, on a stand-alone basis. This series ofoperations is carried out automatically without any aid of a user, andtherefore the sheet laminator enhances and provides the conveniencebetter than a know sheet laminator employing a known technique.

However, the laminate processing is an example of sheet processing, andthe sheet laminator may be broadly referred to as a sheet processingdevice.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation panel 10provided in the sheet laminator 200. The sheet laminator 200 has alaminate processing mode and an inner-sheet insertion mode (sheet-shapedmedium insertion mode). In the laminate processing mode, an inner sheetP as a sheet-shaped medium is sandwiched between two sheets of alamination sheet S, and the lamination sheet S is conveyed to the fixingpath 128 for laminate processing. In the inner-sheet insertion mode, aninner sheet P as a sheet-shaped medium is sandwiched in the laminationsheet S, and the lamination sheet S is conveyed to the non-fixing path129 and ejected.

The user can use the operation panel 10 to select the laminateprocessing mode in which laminate processing is performed on alamination sheet S and the lamination sheet S is ejected or theinner-sheet insertion mode in which an inner sheet P is inserted intotwo sheets without performing laminate processing. Thus, the user canselect whether to convey the lamination sheet S to the fixing path 128or the non-fixing path 129. Providing such a user interface in the sheetlaminator allows the user to select on the operation panel 10 whether toperform the fixing processing on the lamination sheet S or to eject thelamination sheet S in which the inner sheet P is inserted without fixingthe lamination sheet S. Thus, the lamination sheet S is ejected in adesired state.

In the present embodiment, the operation panel is taken as an example.However, the sheet ejection setting may be switched by a command from aswitch or a personal computer.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view illustrating a sheet laminator providedwith a detector that detects an abnormality of the heat-pressing rollers120. As illustrated in FIG. 17, the sheet laminator 200 has a detector130 that detects an abnormality of the heat-pressing rollers 120 that isa fixing unit disposed on the fixing path 128. The detector 130 is, forexample, a thermistor or a non-contact temperature sensor capable ofdetecting the temperature of the heat-pressing rollers 120. If there isno abnormality in the fixing unit, the laminate processing or theinner-sheet insertion processing can be performed as it is. However,when an abnormality occurs in the fixing unit, jam occurs when thelamination sheet S is conveyed to the fixing path 128. As a result, theuser needs to remove the jammed sheet. The abnormality at the fixingunit means that the heat-pressing rollers 120 are in a temperatureabnormality state such as high temperature or low temperature. In such acase, even if the lamination sheet S is conveyed, the heat-pressingroller 120 may not normally perform the fixing processing, which maycause sheet jam. Hence, according to the abnormality detection result,for example, when an abnormality of the heat-pressing rollers 120 isdetected, the conveyance of the lamination sheet S is stopped, or theposition of the branch claw 118 is switched as illustrated in FIG. 17 toconvey the lamination sheet S to the non-fixing path 129. Controllingthe sheet processing as described above can prevent the user's troubleof jam removal processing.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating another example of the operation panel10 provided in the sheet laminator 200. According to the operation panel10 of the present embodiment, the user can also set the sheet ejectionsetting at the time of abnormal fixing, in addition to the sheetejection setting for the laminate processing illustrated in FIG. 16. Forexample, the user can select a sheet ejection setting method when theabnormality of the heat-pressing rollers 120 illustrated in FIG. 17 isdetected, and can set whether to insert an inner sheet P to a laminationsheet S and eject the lamination sheet S when the abnormality isdetected (“inner-sheet insertion”) or whether to eject a laminationsheet S and an inner sheet P separately without inserting the innersheet P into the lamination sheet S (“separate ejection”).

In the “inner-sheet insertion”, when an abnormality of the heat-pressingrollers 120, which are a fixing unit disposed on the fixing path 128, isdetected, the lamination sheet S is conveyed to the non-fixing path 129with the inner sheet P being inserted into the lamination sheet S. As aresult, the laminate processing of the lamination sheet S into which theinner sheet P is inserted can be efficiently performed by anotheroffline machine or the like until the failure of the heat-pressingroller 120 is recovered.

In the “separate ejection”, when an abnormality of the heat-pressingroller 120, which is a fixing unit disposed on the fixing path 128, isdetected, the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P are separatelyconveyed to the non-fixing path 129. Thus, if the user owns two similaronline sheet separation devices, the laminate processing can beperformed as it is with another normal device without wasteful work oftaking out the inserted inner sheet P.

Next, a description is given of a sheet laminator, an image formingapparatus, and an image forming system, each including the sheetprocessing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of anexample of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure, including the sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. An image forming apparatus 300according to the present embodiment includes a sheet laminator 200 a asa device that performs sheet lamination inside the image formingapparatus 300.

The sheet laminator 200 a includes the sheet tray 102 on which thelamination sheet S or the inner sheet P are loaded. The sheet laminator200 a is capable of receiving the lamination sheet S, the inner sheet P,or both from the image forming apparatus 300. Accordingly, the imageforming apparatus 300 (e.g., a printer or a copier) is capable of adding(forming) an image on the lamination sheet S or the inner sheet P by thein-line connection.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 is described indetail. As illustrated in FIG. 19, an image forming apparatus 300includes a housing 300A. The image forming apparatus 300 includes anintermediate transfer device 150 in the housing 300A.

The intermediate transfer device 150 includes an intermediate transferbelt 152 having an endless loop and being entrained around a pluralityof rollers and stretched substantially horizontally. The intermediatetransfer belt 152 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 19.

The image forming apparatus 300 further includes image forming devices154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C),and black (K), respectively, are disposed below the intermediatetransfer device 150 in the housing 300A. The image forming devices 154c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k are arranged in a quadruple tandem manneralong an extended direction of the intermediate transfer belt 152. Eachof the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k includes adrum-shaped image bearer that rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG.19. Various image forming components, for example, a charging device, adeveloping device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device, aredisposed around each of the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y,and 154 k. An exposure device 156 is disposed below the image formingdevices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300.

A sheet feeder 158 is disposed below the exposure device 156 in thehousing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300. The sheet feeder 158includes a first sheet tray 160 that stores lamination sheets S and asecond sheet tray 162 that stores inner sheets P. Note that the firstsheet feed tray 160 is an example of a third sheet loader on which atwo-ply sheet such as the lamination sheet S is loaded. Similarly, thesecond sheet feed tray 162 is an example of a fourth sheet loader onwhich a sheet medium (e.g., the inner sheet P) is loaded.

A first feed roller 166 is disposed at a position upper right of thefirst sheet feed tray 160. The first feed roller 166 feeds out thelamination sheet S one by one from the first sheet feed tray 160 to asheet conveyance passage 164. A second sheet feeding roller 168 isdisposed at the upper right of the second sheet tray 162 and feeds theinner sheets P from the second sheet tray 162 one by one to the sheetconveyance path 164.

The sheet conveyance passage 164 extends upwardly on the right side inthe housing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300 and communicateswith the sheet laminator 200 a provided in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300. The sheet conveyance passage 164 is providedwith, e.g., a conveyance roller 170, a secondary transfer device 174disposed facing the intermediate transfer belt 152, a fixing device 176,and a sheet ejection device 178 including an ejection roller pair,serially.

Note that the first feed roller 166, the conveyance roller 170, and thesheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a third sheet feeder tofeed the two-ply sheet from the first sheet feed tray 160 (third sheetloader). Further, the second feed roller 168, the conveyance roller 170,and the sheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a fourth sheetfeeder to feed a sheet medium from the second sheet feed tray 162(fourth sheet loader). Further, the intermediate transfer device 150 andthe fixing device 176 are examples of an image forming device that formsan image on a two-ply sheet or a sheet medium.

Next, a description is given of operations of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, to form an image onthe lamination sheet S and then perform a sheet laminating operation onthe lamination sheet S.

When forming an image on the lamination sheet S, firstly, an imagereading device 188 reads the image on an original document, and theexposure device 156 then performs image writing. Thereafter, the imageforming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k form respective colortoner images on the respective image bearers. Then, primary transferdevices 180 c, 180 m, 180 y, and 180 k sequentially transfer therespective toner images onto the intermediate transfer belt 152, therebyforming a color image on the intermediate transfer belt 152.

By contrast, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the first feedroller 166 to feed and convey the lamination sheet S to the sheetconveyance passage 164. Then, the lamination sheet S is conveyed by theconveyance roller 170 through the sheet conveyance passage 164 and issent to a secondary transfer position in synchrony with movement of thecolor image on the intermediate transfer belt 152. Then, the secondarytransfer device 174 transfers the color image formed on the intermediatetransfer belt 152 as described above, onto the lamination sheet S.

After the image has been transferred onto the lamination sheet S, thefixing device 176 fixes the image on the lamination sheet S to thelamination sheet S, and the sheet ejection device 178 ejects to conveythe lamination sheet S to the sheet laminator 200 a.

Further, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the second feed roller168 to feed the inner sheet P to the sheet conveyance passage 164, andthe sheet ejection device 178 ejects to convey the inner sheet P to thesheet laminator 200 a.

As described above, the lamination sheet S on which the image has beenformed and the inner sheet P are conveyed to the sheet laminator 200 a,so that the sheet laminating operation is performed by the sheetlaminator 200 a. Since the details of the sheet laminating operationhave been described above, the redundant descriptions are omitted.

According to the above-described configuration of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, the sheet laminator200 a may perform the sheet laminating operation after an image isformed on the inner sheet P. In addition, the sheet laminator 200 a mayperform the sheet laminating operation after the image forming operationhas been performed on the inner sheet P and the lamination sheet S.

Next, a description is given of a sheet laminator, an image formingapparatus, and an image forming system, each including the sheetprocessing device according to another example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus according to another example of the presentdisclosure, including the sheet laminator according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. An image forming apparatus 400 illustrated inFIG. 20 is basically same as the image forming apparatus 300 illustratedin FIG. 19. However, different from the image forming apparatus 300illustrated in FIG. 19, the image forming apparatus 400 includes a mainejection roller pair 122 and a main ejection tray 123, each of which isprovided in a housing 400A of the image forming apparatus 400.

When the sheet laminating operation is not performed, the image formingapparatus 400 may eject the recording medium on which the image isformed, by a main ejection roller pair 122 to a main ejection tray 123.Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 400 does not decrease the imageoutput speed when the sheet laminating operation is not performed.

Note that the image forming apparatus 400 may include the sheetlaminator 200 a in the housing 400A to be detachably attached to thehousing 400A. That is, when the sheet laminating operation is notrequired, the sheet laminator 200 a may be detached from the imageforming apparatus 400.

In addition, in the sheet laminator 200 a thus removed, the sheet feedtray 103 on which the inner sheet P is loaded and the pickup roller 106to feed the inner sheet P from the sheet feed tray 103 may be attachedto the sheet laminator 200 a, so that the sheet laminator 200 a is usedas a stand-alone machine similar to the sheet laminator 200 aillustrated in FIG. 15.

The image forming apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 19 and the imageforming apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 20 may include a sheetprocessing device instead of the sheet laminator 200 a. The imageforming apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 20 may include a sheetprocessing device that is removably attached to the image formingapparatus 400.

Further, an image forming system may include the image forming apparatus300 or 400, the sheet processing device 100 detachably attached to theimage forming apparatus 300 or 400 or the sheet laminator 200 detachablyattached to the image forming apparatus 300 or 400. Furthermore, aspectsof this disclosure can be embodied as a system including at least one ofa sheet feeder (a stacker) and a case binding device or the like. Notethat, in a case in which a lamination sheet S passes through a fixingdevice 176, the lamination sheet S is not bonded at the fixingtemperature but is bonded by application of heat higher than the fixingtemperature.

Although the image forming apparatuses 300 and 400 employelectrophotography for image formation on the lamination sheet S and theinsertion sheet in the description above, the image formation method isnot limited thereto, and inkjet, stencil printing, or other printingmethod can be used.

Further, the sheet laminator 200 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure includes the above-mentioned sheet processing device100 and heat-pressing rollers 120 capable of heating and pressing thelamination sheet S.

Further, the image forming apparatus 300 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes the above-mentioned sheet processingdevice 100. The sheet processing device 100 may be built in the imageforming apparatus.

Further, the image forming system according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure has the sheet processing device 100 inside the imageforming apparatus 300. The image forming system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure may include the sheet processingdevice 100 inside the image forming apparatus 300 and a post-processingdevice disposed downstream from the sheet processing device 100 in thesheet conveyance direction. The post-processing device can staple, forexample, printed sheets.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in the sheetlaminator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In stepS11, the user selects, for example, whether to perform the laminateprocessing from the operation panel 10 of the sheet laminator 200, andpresses down the start key in step S12. Next, in step S13, the sheetlaminator 200 performs a feeding operation of a lamination sheet S, andsubsequently, in step S14, performs a feeding operation of an innersheet P. Next, the sheet laminator 200 performs a winding operation ofthe lamination sheet S in step S15 and a separating operation of thelamination sheet S in step S16.

Next, when the leading end of the lamination sheet S passes through theconveyance sensor C5 (YES in S17), the sheet laminator 200 determineswhether the “laminate processing mode” is selected by the user (S18).When the “laminate processing mode” is selected (YES in S18), the sheetlaminator 200 confirms that there is no abnormality in the heat-pressingrollers 120 by the detector 130 (YES in S19), and switches the positionof the branch claw 118 to the fixing path side (S20), inserts the innersheet P into the lamination sheet S (S21), performs the fixingprocessing (S22), and ejects the lamination sheet S onto the sheetejection tray 104 for the laminate processing (S23).

Alternatively, when the “inner-sheet insertion mode” is selected insteadof the “laminate processing mode” (NO in S18), the sheet laminator 200does not switch the branch claw 118, inserts the inner sheet P into thelamination sheet S (S24), ejects the lamination sheet S onto the sheetejection tray 126 for the non-fixing path 129 (S25). Similarly, when anabnormality is detected in the heat-pressing rollers 120 as the fixingunit by the detector 130 (NO in S19), the sheet laminator 200 does notswitch the branch claw 118, inserts the inner sheet P to the laminationsheet S (S24), and ejects the lamination sheet S onto the sheet ejectiontray 126 for the non-fixing path 129 (S25).

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in the sheetlaminator according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Instep S31, the user selects, for example, whether to perform the laminateprocessing from the operation panel 10 of the sheet laminator 200, andpresses down the start key in step S32. Next, in step S33, the sheetlaminator 200 performs a feeding operation of a lamination sheet S, andsubsequently, in step S34, performs a feeding operation of an innersheet P. Next, in this flowchart, unlike the process of FIG. 21, when anabnormality is detected in the heat-pressing rollers 120 as the fixingunit by the detector 130 (NO in S35), the sheet laminator 200 ejects thelamination sheet S and the inner sheet P separately to the sheetejection tray 126 for the non-fixing path 129 without inserting theinner sheet P to the lamination sheet P (S44).

Alternatively, when no abnormality is detected (YES in S35), the sheetlaminator 200 performs a winding operation of the lamination sheet S instep S36 and a separating operation of the lamination sheet S in stepS37.

Next, when the leading end of the lamination sheet S passes through theconveyance sensor C5 (YES in S38), the controller 800 of the sheetlaminator 200 determines whether the “laminate processing mode” isselected by the user (S39). When the “laminate processing mode” isselected (YES in S39), the sheet laminator 200 switches the position ofthe branch claw 118 to the fixing path side (S40). After inserting theinner sheet P (S41), the sheet laminator 200 performs the fixingprocessing (S42) and ejects the lamination sheet S to the sheet ejectiontray 104 for laminate processing (S43).

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations in the sheetlaminator according to still another embodiment of the presentdisclosure. This flowchart is configured as a combination of theprocesses of FIGS. 21 and 22. In other words, the user can selectwhether to insert an inner sheet P to a lamination sheet S and eject thelamination sheet or to eject the lamination sheet S and the inner sheetP separately, as a sheet ejection method to be performed when anabnormality of the fixing unit is detected.

In step S31, the user selects execution or non-execution of the laminateprocessing and a sheet ejection method on detection of an abnormality ofthe fixing unit from the operation panel 10 of the sheet laminator 200,and presses down the start key in step S32. Next, in step S53, the sheetlaminator 200 performs a feeding operation of a lamination sheet S, andsubsequently, in step S54, performs a feeding operation of an innersheet P. Next, when an abnormality is detected in the heat-pressingrollers 120 as the fixing unit by the detector 130 (NO in S55) and the“inner-sheet insertion and ejection” is selected (YES in S64), the sheetlaminator 200 performs the winding operation of the lamination sheet Sin step S65 and the separating operation of the lamination sheet S instep S66. Next, when the leading end of the lamination sheet S passesthrough the conveyance sensor C5 (YES in S67), the sheet laminator 200performs the insertion operation of the inner sheet P (S68), and thenejects the lamination sheet S, in which the inner sheet P has beeninserted, to the sheet ejection tray 126 for the non-fixing path 129without performing the fixing processing (S69). When the “inner-sheetinsertion and ejection” is not selected (NO in S64), the sheet laminator200 separately ejects the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P tothe sheet ejection tray 126 for the non-fixing path 129 (S69).

Alternatively, when no abnormality is detected (YES in S55), the sheetlaminator 200 performs the winding operation of the lamination sheet Sin step S56 and the separating operation of the lamination sheet S instep S57.

Next, when the leading end of the lamination sheet S passes through theconveyance sensor C5 (YES in S58), the controller 800 of the sheetlaminator 200 determines whether the “laminate processing mode” isselected by the user (S59). When the “laminate processing mode” isselected (YES in S59), the sheet laminator 200 switches the position ofthe branch claw 118 to the fixing path side (S60). After inserting theinner sheet P (S61), the sheet laminator 200 ejects the fixingprocessing (S62) and ejects the lamination sheet S to the sheet ejectiontray 104 for laminate processing (S63). When the “laminate processingmode” is not selected (NO in S59), the sheet laminator 200 performs theinsertion operation of the inner sheet P (S68), and then ejects thelamination sheet S, in which the inner sheet P has been inserted, to thesheet ejection tray 126 for the non-fixing path 129 without performingthe fixing processing (S69).

As described above, the sheet processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure can perform the laminate processingmode in which the laminate processing is performed and the inner-sheetinsertion mode in which only an inner sheet is inserted into alamination film (lamination sheet) without performing the fixingprocessing. Accordingly, in addition to the normal laminate processing,only the troublesome pinching work can be performed by automation, andthe subsequent laminate processing can be performed by another offlinemachine to enhance the productivity of the work.

Next, a description is given of a sheet processing device according toaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference toFIG. 24. FIG. 24 is a schematic view illustrating the overallconfiguration of a sheet processing device according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. A sheet processing device 100 according to thepresent embodiment is to separate two sheets (plies) of a two-ply sheet(hereinafter referred to as a lamination sheet S) and to insert andsandwich a sheet-shaped medium (hereinafter referred to as an innersheet P) between the separated sheets of the two-ply sheet.

The lamination sheet S is a two-ply sheet in which two sheets areoverlapped and bonded together at a portion (or a side) of the two-plysheet. For example, there is a two-ply sheet in which a first side is atransparent sheet such as a transparent polyester sheet and the oppositeside is a transparent or opaque sheet and bonded to the other sheet onone side of the two-ply sheet. The two-ply sheet also includes alamination film.

The inner sheet P is an example of the sheet medium that is insertedinto the two-ply sheet. The sheet medium may be, for example, thickpaper, postcards, envelopes, plain paper, thin paper, coated paper, artpaper, tracing paper, and overhead projector (OHP) transparencies.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, a sheet processing device 100 includes asheet tray 102, a pickup roller 105, and a conveyance roller pair 107.The sheet tray 102 functions as a first sheet loader on which thelamination sheets S are placed. The pickup roller 105 feeds thelamination sheet S from the sheet tray 102. The sheet processing device100 further includes a sheet feed tray 103 as a second loader on whichthe inner sheet P is loaded, and a pickup roller 106 that feeds theinner sheet P from the sheet feed tray 103.

A conveyance sensor C1 is disposed downstream from the conveyance rollerpair 107 in the sheet conveyance direction to detect the sheetconveyance position of the lamination sheet S. A conveyance sensor C2 isdisposed downstream from the pickup roller 106 in the sheet conveyancedirection to detect the sheet conveyance position of the inner sheet P.

The sheet processing device 100 includes an entrance roller pair 108 asa first conveyor, a winding roller 109 as a rotator, the exit rollerpair 113 as a second conveyor, and the sheet ejection tray 104 as asheet stacker to stack ejected lamination sheets S. The entrance rollerpair 108, the winding roller 109, the exit roller pair 113, and thesheet ejection tray 104 are disposed downstream from the conveyanceroller pair 107 and the pickup roller 106 in the sheet conveyancedirection. The sheet processing device 100 further includes a separationclaw 116 between the winding roller 109 and the exit roller pair 113.The separation claw 116 is movable in the width direction of thelamination sheet S.

A conveyance sensor C3 that detects the positions of a lamination sheetS and an inner sheet P being conveyed is disposed downstream from theentrance roller pair 108 in the sheet conveyance direction. Anabnormality detection sensor C4 that detects the state of the laminationsheet S is disposed downstream from the winding roller 109 in the sheetconveyance direction. A conveyance sensor C5 that detects the positionof the lamination sheet S being conveyed is disposed downstream from theexit roller pair 113 in the sheet conveyance direction.

The pickup roller 105, the conveyance roller pair 107, the entranceroller pair 108, and the winding roller 109 are examples of a firstfeeder. The pickup roller 106, the entrance roller pair 108 and thewinding roller 109 are examples of a second feeder.

The sheet processing device 100 includes heat-pressing rollers 120, aheat-pressing conveyance path 128, a non-heat-pressing conveyance path126, a branch claw 118, and a sheet ejection tray 104. The heat-pressingroller 120 is a heat pressing member that heats and presses a laminationsheet S in which an inner sheet P as a sheet-shaped medium issandwiched. The heat-pressing rollers 120 are disposed on theheat-pressing conveyance path 128 and are not disposed on thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. The branch claw 118 is abranching member that branches the lamination sheet S into theheat-pressing conveyance path 128 or the non-heat-pressing conveyancepath 126. The sheet ejection tray 104 is a stacker that stacks theejected sheet S.

Both the lamination sheet S (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as a“heat-pressed sheet”) that is conveyed through and ejected from theheat-pressing conveyance path 128 provided with the heat-pressingrollers 120 and the lamination sheet S (hereinafter, appropriatelyreferred to as “non-heat-pressed sheet”) that is conveyed through andejected from the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 are ejected andstacked on the common sheet ejection tray 104. As a result, since onlyone sheet ejection tray 104 needs to be installed, the cost of the sheetprocessing device 100 can be reduced and the size of the sheetprocessing device 100 can be reduced.

The branch claw 118 that switches the conveyance path of the laminationsheet S is disposed downstream in the conveyance direction of theconveyance sensor C5. The heat-pressing conveyance path 128 and thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 are formed downstream of thebranch claw 118. The heat-pressing rollers 120 and the ejection roller121 disposed downstream from the heat-pressing rollers 120 and in thevicinity of a sheet ejection port are disposed on the heat-pressingconveyance path 128. A conveyance roller 124 and an ejection roller 123are disposed on the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. Theconveyance roller 124 conveys the lamination sheet S. The ejectionroller 123 is disposed downstream of the conveyance roller 124 and inthe vicinity of the sheet ejection port.

An operation panel 10 is provided on the exterior of the sheetprocessing device 100. The operation panel 10 serves as adisplay-operation device to display information of the sheet processingdevice 100 and receives input of the operation of the sheet processingdevice 100. The operation panel 10 also serves as a notification deviceto output a perceptual signal to a user. As an alternative, anotification device other than the operation panel 10 may be separatelyprovided in the sheet processing device 100.

The sheet processing device 100 according to the present embodimentloads lamination sheets S and inner sheets P on separate trays. As alamination sheet S is conveyed in the sheet processing device 100, thesheet processing device 100 separates and opens the lamination sheet Sinto two sheets and inserts the inner sheet P into an opening of thelamination sheet S. The lamination sheet S into which the inner sheet Pis inserted is conveyed to the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 or thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126, and is ejected and stacked on thesheet ejection tray 104.

Thus, the sheet processing device 100 performs a series of operations,in this order, of feeding the lamination sheet S, separating thelamination sheet S, inserting the inner sheet P into the laminationsheet S, and laminating the lamination sheet S with the inner sheet Pbeing inserted, by application of heat and pressure, on a stand-alonebasis. This series of operations is carried out automatically withoutany aid of a user, and therefore the sheet laminator enhances andprovides the convenience better than a know sheet laminator employing aknown technique.

FIG. 25 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 24. As illustrated in FIG. 25, each of theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113 is, for example,two rollers paired with each other and driven by a driver such as amotor. The controller 800 causes the driver to control rotations of theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The entranceroller pair 108 is driven to rotate in one direction. The exit rollerpair 113 rotates in forward and reverse directions, thereby nipping andconveying the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P.

The entrance roller pair 108 conveys the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P toward the exit roller pair 113. The sheet conveyancedirection indicated by arrow A in FIG. 25 is referred to as a forwardconveyance direction or a direction A.

The exit roller pair 113 can switch the direction of rotation betweenthe forward direction and the reverse direction. The exit roller pair113 conveys the lamination sheet S nipped by the rollers of the exitroller pair 113 toward the sheet ejection tray 104 (see FIG. 24) in theforward conveyance direction and also conveys the lamination sheet Stoward the winding roller 109 in the direction opposite the forwardconveyance direction (to convey the lamination sheet S in reverse). Thesheet conveyance direction toward the winding roller 109, which isindicated by arrow B in FIG. 4 and a direction opposite to the forwardconveyance direction, is referred to as a reverse conveyance directionor a direction B.

The sheet processing device 100 is provided with the winding roller 109as a rotator and the separation claw 116 that are disposed between theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The windingroller 109 is driven by a driver such as a motor to rotate in theforward and reverse directions. The direction of rotation of the windingroller 109 is switchable between the forward direction (clockwisedirection) and the reverse direction (counterclockwise direction). Thecontroller 800 controls the driver to control rotations of the windingroller 109 and operations of the separation claw 116.

The winding roller 109 includes a roller 111 and a movable gripper 110disposed on the roller 111 to grip the lamination sheet S. The movablegripper 110 grips the leading end of the lamination sheet S togetherwith the roller 111. The gripper 110 may be integrated with the outercircumference of the roller 111, or may be a separate component. Thecontroller 800 controls a driver to move the gripper 110.

Next, a description is given of a series of operations performed in thesheet processing device 100, with reference to FIGS. 24 to 35B. Theseries of operations performed by the sheet processing device 100indicates the operations from separating the lamination sheet S toinserting the inner sheet P into the lamination sheet S. The controller800 controls the series of operations performed by the sheet processingdevice 100. Note that, in FIGS. 26 to 35B, elements identical to theelements illustrated in FIGS. 24 and 25 are given identical referencenumerals, and the descriptions these elements are omitted.

In FIG. 24, the lamination sheet S is loaded on the sheet tray 102 suchthat a part of the bonded side of the lamination sheet S is locateddownstream from the pickup roller 105 in the sheet feed direction (sheetconveyance direction). In the sheet processing device 100, the pickuproller 105 picks up the lamination sheet S from the sheet tray 102, andthe conveyance roller pair 107 conveys the lamination sheet S toward theentrance roller pair 108.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 25, the entrance roller pair 108 conveysthe lamination sheet S toward the winding roller 109. In the sheetprocessing device 100, the entrance roller pair 108 conveys thelamination sheet S with the bonded end, which is one of four sides ofthe lamination sheet S, as the downstream side in the forward conveyancedirection A as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 26, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 temporarily stops conveyance of the laminationsheet S when the trailing end of the lamination sheet S in the forwardconveyance direction has passed the winding roller 109. Note that theseoperations are performed by conveying the lamination sheet S from theconveyance sensor C3 by a specified amount in response to the timing atwhich the conveyance sensor C3 detected the leading end of thelamination sheet S.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 27, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the gripper 110 to open and the exit rollerpair 113 to rotate in the reverse direction to convey the laminationsheet S in the reverse conveyance direction (sheet conveyance directionB) toward the opened portion of the gripper 110.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 28, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to stop rotatingto stop conveyance of the lamination sheet S when the end of thelamination sheet S is inserted into the opened portion of the gripper110 and causes the driver to close the gripper 110 to grip the end ofthe lamination sheet S. Specifically, the gripper 110 is configured tosandwich and grip the lamination sheet S with a receiving portion 115 ofthe winding roller 109 from a direction perpendicular to the end portionof the lamination sheet S. The receiving portion 115 is formed so as toface the gripper 110. Note that these operations are performed when thelamination sheet S is conveyed by the specified amount.

Here, in the present embodiment, at least one of the gripper 110 and thereceiving portion 115 is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, aspring, or a leaf spring. As compared with a configuration in which thegripper 110 and the receiving portion 115 have rigid bodies made ofmetal or resin, such a configuration can enhance the gripping force togrip the lamination sheet S and prevent the surfaces of the laminationsheet S from being damaged. In particular, when both the gripper 110 andthe receiving portion 115 are made of an elastic material, such aneffect is likely to be exhibited.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 29, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 to wind the lamination sheetS around the winding roller 109. Here, the lamination sheet S is woundaround the winding roller 109 from the side where the two sheets of thelamination sheet S are overlapped but not bonded.

The winding roller 109 is rotatable about a rotary shaft 112 in theforward direction and in the reverse direction. The controller 800controls a drive motor that drives the winding roller 109.

As illustrated in FIG. 30, when the lamination sheet S that is thetwo-ply sheet is wound around the winding roller 109, a windingcircumferential length difference is created between the two sheets inthe amount of winding of the lamination sheet S around the circumferenceof the winding roller 109. There is a surplus of the sheet on the innercircumferential side to the center of the winding roller 109, whichgenerates a slack toward the bonded end. As a result, a space is createdbetween the two sheets constructing the two-ply sheet. As the separationclaws 116 are inserted into the space generated as described above, fromboth sides of the lamination sheet S, the space between the two sheetsis reliably maintained. Note that these operations are performed byconveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by aspecified amount in response to the timing at which the conveyancesensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

Here, a description is given of the separation claw 116.

FIG. 36 is a schematic view illustrating the separation claw 116 of thesheet processing device 100. FIGS. 37A and 37B are schematic viewsillustrating an example of a drive configuration of the separation claw116. FIG. 38 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which theseparation claws 116 are inserted in the lamination sheet S.

As illustrated in FIG. 36, when viewed from the upstream side in thesheet conveyance direction, the size in the height (vertical direction)of the separation claw 116 gradually increases from the center in thewidth direction to the trailing end (right end in FIG. 36). Further,when viewed from the vertical direction, the size of the separation claw116 in the sheet conveyance direction gradually increases from theleading end to the center. When viewed from the width direction, theseparation claw 116 has a cross shape.

Further, in the present embodiment, referring to FIGS. 37A and 37B, thetwo separation claws 116 are disposed facing each other and moved in theapproaching direction and the separating direction, for example, by abelt drive mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 37A and by a rack and pinionmechanism illustrated in FIG. 37B.

As described above, in the present embodiment, each of the separationclaws 116 having the above-mentioned shape is movable in the widthdirection of the lamination sheet S. Accordingly, the separation claws116 are smoothly inserted into the gap created in the lamination sheet Sas illustrated in FIG. 38.

A description of a series of operations of the sheet processing device100 is continued below. With the separation claws 116 inserted in thespace in the lamination sheet S, the controller 800 in the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the clockwise direction (see FIG. 30). The controller 800 then causesthe space generated in the lamination sheet S to shift to the trailingend of the lamination sheet S in the forward conveyance direction (sheetconveyance direction A), as illustrated in FIG. 31. After the windingroller 109 has been rotated by a specified amount, the controller 800causes the driver to open the gripper 110. As a result, the trailing endof the lamination sheet S is separated into the upper and lower sheets.

In this state, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100causes the driver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the laminationsheet S and to further move the separation claws 116 in the widthdirection of the lamination sheet S to separate the whole area of thetrailing end of the lamination sheet S. Note that these operations areperformed by conveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensorC5 by a specified amount in response to the timing at which theconveyance sensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

FIG. 39 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws 116 andthe lamination sheet S in the state illustrated in FIG. 31. Since eachseparation claw 116 further has a branching guide that functions as aguide to guide the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S indifferent directions due to the above-described shape (see FIG. 36), thetwo sheets separated from the lamination sheet S may be kept in posturesto be conveyed to different sheet conveyance passages.

Further, since the separation claws 116 are movable in the widthdirection (see FIGS. 37A and 37B), the separation claws 116 arepositioned suitably to support the postures of the two sheets of thelamination sheet S as illustrated in FIG. 40. Therefore, even when thesize of the lamination sheet S and the rigidity (or retentivitycorresponding to the propensity to retain a particular shape onceapplied, such as curvature of paper) of the lamination sheet S change,the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S are guided indesired branching directions. This configuration eliminates the need fora lamination sheet separating member over the whole area in the widthdirection of the sheet conveyance passage and a driver to drive thelamination sheet separating member, thereby reducing the cost whencompared with the configuration of a known sheet processing device.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 32, after the separation claws 116 haveseparated the whole area of the trailing end of the lamination sheet S,the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driverto rotate the exit roller pair 113 in the counterclockwise direction inFIG. 32 to convey the lamination sheet S in the reverse conveyancedirection (sheet conveyance direction B). That is, the separation claws116 guide the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S in theupper and lower directions, respectively, and therefore the two sheetsare fully separated.

Then, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes thedriver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the lamination sheet S, sothat the bonded portion of the lamination sheet S is held (nipped) bythe exit roller pair 113. Accordingly, one end of the lamination sheet Sis bonded as the bonded side of the lamination sheet S and the other endof the lamination sheet S is opened largely.

Note that these operations are performed by conveying the laminationsheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by a specified amount in responseto the timing at which the conveyance sensor C5 detected the leading endof the lamination sheet S.

Variation A description is given of the sheet processing device havinganother example of a sheet guide passage of two sheets separated from alamination sheet S, with reference to FIGS. 41A, 41B, and 41C. FIGS.41A, 41B, and 41C are schematic views, each illustrating another exampleof a sheet guide passage of two sheets separated from a lamination sheetS. The sheet processing device 100 illustrated in FIG. 41A has the samesheet guide passages as the sheet processing device 100 illustrated inFIG. 32 to guide the upper and lower sheets in the same direction fromthe bonded portion of the lamination sheet S. Alternatively, asillustrated in FIG. 41B, the sheet processing device 100 may have sheetguide passages extending in different directions in an inverted S shapeto guide the upper and lower sheets in different directions. Further, asillustrated in FIG. 41C, the sheet processing device 100 may have sheetguide passages extending in different directions in an S shape to guidethe upper and lower sheets in different directions which are oppositethe directions of the sheet guide passages in the sheet processingdevice 100 illustrated in FIG. 41B.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 33, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the entrance roller pair 108 to rotate toconvey the inner sheet PM conveyed from the sheet feed tray 103 (seeFIG. 24) toward the exit roller pair 113 in the forward conveyancedirection (sheet conveyance direction A).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 34, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to rotate so thatthe lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P converge to insert theinner sheet PM into the lamination sheet S from the open portion (on theother end) of the lamination sheet S.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 35A, the exit roller pair 113 of the sheetprocessing device 100 conveys the lamination sheet S in which the innersheet P is inserted, in the forward conveyance direction (sheetconveyance direction A). Thus, the two sheets of the lamination sheet Sare overlapped one on another again so as to close the open portion ofthe lamination sheet S. When the fixing processing is not performed, asillustrated in FIG. 35A, the branch claw 118 is driven so that the exitroller pair 113 or a roller disposed downstream from the exit rollerpair 113 in the sheet conveyance direction conveys the lamination sheetS, in which the inner sheet P is sandwiched, to the non-heat-pressingconveyance path 126, and is ejected and stacked on the sheet ejectiontray 104 (see FIG. 24).

When the fixing processing is performed, as illustrated in FIG. 35B, thebranch claw 118 is driven to switch the conveyance path, and thelamination sheet S in which the inner sheet P is sandwiched is conveyedto the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 leading to the heat-pressingdevice.

As described above, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device100 according to the present embodiment causes the driver to open thelamination sheet S so as to insert and nip the inner sheet P into thelamination sheet S. Accordingly, since the configuration of the sheetprocessing device 100 is simpler than the configuration of a known sheetlaminator employing a vacuum device, the entire sheet processing devicehas a simpler and smaller configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 24, the sheet processing device 100 according tothe present embodiment loads the lamination sheet S and the inner sheetP on separate trays and feeds and conveys the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P separately. Accordingly, the convenience is enhancedwithout loading the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P in thepredetermined order. Note that, in the present embodiment, thelamination sheet S is loaded on the sheet tray 102 and the inner sheet Pis loaded on the sheet feed tray 103. However, the tray on which thelamination sheet S is loaded and the tray on which the inner sheet P isloaded are not limited to the above-described trays. For example, theinner sheet P may be loaded on the sheet tray 102 and the laminationsheet S may be loaded on the sheet feed tray 103.

FIGS. 42A and 42B are schematic side views illustrating the sheetstransported to the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 and thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. As illustrated in FIGS. 42A and42B, the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 is formed above thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. As a result, thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 and the sheet ejection tray 104are disposed close to each other, and the stack quality of thenon-heat-pressed sheet, which may be disturbed during stacking, isstabilized (see FIG. 42B). Since the heat stored in the heat-pressingrollers 120 are dissipated upward, the arrangement of the heat-pressingconveyance path 128 at an upper position can restrain a non-heat-pressedsheet conveyed through the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 frombeing affected by heat.

The heat-pressed sheet conveyed to the heat-pressing conveyance path 128is conveyed by the ejection roller 121 near the sheet ejection port andejected to the sheet ejection tray 104 (see FIG. 42A). On the otherhand, the non-heat-pressed sheet conveyed to the non-heat-pressedconveyance path 126 is conveyed by the ejection roller 123 near thesheet ejection port, and is ejected to the same sheet ejection tray 104as the lamination sheet S conveyed to the heat-pressed conveyance path128 (see FIG. 42B).

Whether the fixing processing is to be performed may be specified byselecting “laminate all” or “laminate odd-numbered sheets” from theoperation panel 10 or a printer driver for printing settings from apersonal computer.

Next, a description is given of a sheet processing device according toaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference toFIG. 43. FIG. 43 is a schematic view illustrating the overallconfiguration of a sheet processing device according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. Compared with the sheet processing device ofFIG. 24, the sheet processing device 100 according to the presentembodiment does not have the ejection roller 123, and thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 and the heat-pressing conveyancepath 128 merge at a position downstream from the heat-pressing roller120 and upstream from the ejection roller 121 in the conveyancedirection. Accordingly, the sheet conveyance path is branched into thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 and the heat-pressing conveyancepath 128 at the location at which the branch claw 118 is disposed, andthen rejoins upstream from the ejection roller 121 in the sheetconveyance direction. Thus, after the inner sheet P is inserted into thelamination sheet S, the lamination sheet S is ejected onto the samesheet ejection tray 104 directly below the sheet ejection port. Sincethe sheets ejected from the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 andthe heat-pressing conveyance path 128 are stacked in the same way, thestack quality is stabilized.

The ejection roller 121 as an ejector that ejects the heat-pressed sheetto the sheet ejection tray 104 is disposed downstream from theheat-pressing conveyance path 128. The sheet conveyance path from theheat-pressing rollers 120 to the ejection roller 121 is constructed in asubstantially straight line. Accordingly, if the sheet is curved beforethe heat of the sheet cools down, the sheet may be solidified in acurved shape. However, in the present embodiment, the sheet conveyancepath downstream from the heat-pressing rollers 120 is formed in astraight line, thus restraining the sheet from being solidified in acurved shape.

In the sheet processing device of FIG. 24, when a lamination sheet S isejected from the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 located above, thedistance to the sheet ejection tray 104 is large, and the stacked sheetsmight be disturbed. For the sheet processing device 100 according to theabove, stable stackability can be ensured regardless of which conveyancepath the lamination sheet S is ejected from.

Next, a description is given of a sheet processing device according toaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference toFIG. 46. FIG. 46 is a schematic view illustrating the overallconfiguration of a sheet processing device according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In the sheet processing device 100 according tothe present embodiment, similarly to the sheet processing device of FIG.24, the sheet conveyance path is divided into the non-heat-pressingconveyance path 126 and the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 at thelocation where the branch claw 118 is arranged. Since the sheetconveyance path is branched, a lamination sheet S is ejected to thesheet ejection tray 104 as it is. The sheet ejection tray 104 isconfigured to be movable up and down. With such a configuration, thedistance to the sheet ejection tray 104 does not increase regardless ofwhich conveyance path the lamination sheet S is ejected from. Thus,stable stackability can be ensured.

FIGS. 45A and 45B are perspective views of a sheet ejection portion ofthe sheet processing device 100 illustrated in FIG. 44. As illustratedin FIG. 45A, when a lamination sheet S is conveyed in thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126, the sheet ejection tray 104 movesto a lower position to receive the non-heat-pressed sheet. Asillustrated in FIG. 45B, when the lamination sheet S is conveyed throughthe heat-pressed conveyance path 128, the sheet ejection tray 104 movesupward to receive the heat-pressed sheet.

FIG. 46 is a schematic side view illustrating a lift that raises andlowers the sheet ejection tray 104. When the sheet ejection tray 104moves up and down as illustrated in FIGS. 45A and 45B, the sheetejection tray 104 might interfere with the ejection rollers 121 and 123.Therefore, the sheet processing device 100 has a lift that raises andlowers the sheet ejection tray 104, and the sheet ejection tray 104 israised and lowered by the lift according to the conveyance path throughwhich the lamination sheet S is conveyed. Thus, the lamination sheets Sejected from the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 and theheat-pressing conveyance path 128 are stacked in the same manner, andthe stack quality is stabilized.

As illustrated in FIG. 46, the lift that raises and lowers the sheetejection tray 104 includes a guide rail 140 and a traction member 150.The guide rail 140 guides the sheet ejection tray 104 up, down, left,and right. The traction member 150 made of a belt, a wire, or the likeconnected to the sheet ejection tray 104 to pull the sheet ejection tray104. The guide rail 140 has a body extending in the vertical directionand a leading end portion extending obliquely from the body. Since thesheet ejection tray 104 can be moved not only in the vertical directionbut also in the sheet conveyance direction by the guide rail 140, thesheet ejection tray 104 can avoid the ejection rollers 121 and 123 whenthe sheet ejection tray 104 moves up and down. In FIG. 46, the sheetejection tray 104 a is engaged with an upper leading-end portion of theguide rail 140 and is at an upper position, and the sheet ejection tray104 c is engaged with a lower leading-end portion of the guide rail 140and is at the lower position. The ejection tray 104 b is within the mainbody of the guide rail 140 and is between the upper position and thelower position. The upper position of the sheet ejection tray 104 a isdetected by a sensor 141 a, and the lower position of the sheet ejectiontray 104 c is detected by a sensor 141 b.

FIGS. 47A, 47B, and 47C are schematic plan views illustrating a sheetsorting mechanism that sorts sheets when the sheets are ejected to thesheet ejection tray 104. The sheet processing device 100 includes asheet sorting mechanism 130 capable of changing the stack position of alamination sheet S on the sheet ejection tray 104 in a directionorthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. A heat-pressed sheet and anon-heat-pressed sheet to be ejected to the sheet ejection tray 104 aresorted on the sheet ejection tray 104 by the sheet sorting mechanism130. Separating the heat-pressed sheet and the non-heat-pressed sheet inthis way can facilitate handling of sheets when only non-heat-pressedsheets are processed by another processing device.

For example, the sheet sorting mechanism 130 as illustrated in FIGS.47A, 47B, and 47C is installed on, for example, the ejection roller 121.The seat sorting mechanism 130 includes a shift cam 132, a shift link134, a shift cam stud 136, and a shift home-position (HP) sensor 138. Asthe shift cam 132 rotates, the shift link 134 follows the movement ofthe shift cam stud 136. Accordingly, the ejection roller 121 moves inthe direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction, to shifta lamination sheet S. Thus, sheets can be sorted on the sheet ejectiontray 104. Seen from the home position of the sheet sorting mechanism 130illustrated in FIG. 47A, in FIG. 47B, the ejection roller 121 moves tothe right and the lamination sheet S is ejected to the right side, andin FIG. 47C, the ejection roller 121 moves to the left and thelamination sheet S is ejected to the left side.

FIG. 48 is a schematic perspective view of lamination sheets sorted bythe sheet sorting mechanism of FIGS. 47A, 47B, and 47C. As illustratedin FIG. 48, lamination sheets S ejected while being shifted by the sheetsorting mechanism 130 illustrated in FIGS. 47A, 47B, and 47C areseparately stacked on the sheet ejection tray 104. Thus, theheat-pressed sheet and the non-heat-pressed sheet can be easilydistinguished. The sheet sorting mechanism may be, for example, a devicethat moves the sheet ejection tray 104 in the direction perpendicular tothe sheet conveyance direction or a mechanism for pulling a laminationsheet S toward the sheet ejection port.

FIG. 49 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of anexample of an image forming apparatus including a sheet laminatoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. An image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment includes a sheetprocessing device 200 a and an image forming device that forms an imageon a sheet or a sheet-shaped medium as a sheet laminator unit.

Here, the sheet laminator 200 a includes the sheet tray 102 on whichlamination sheets S or inner sheets P are loaded. The sheet laminator200 a is capable of receiving the lamination sheets S, the inner sheetsP, or both from the image forming apparatus 300. Accordingly, the imageforming apparatus 300 (e.g., a printer or a copier) is capable of adding(forming) an image on the lamination sheet S or the inner sheet P by thein-line connection.

Note that, when the sheet laminating operation is not required, thesheet laminator 200 a may be detached from the image forming apparatus300. In addition, in the sheet laminator 200 a thus removed, the sheetfeed tray 103 on which the inner sheet P is loaded and the pickup roller106 to feed the inner sheet P from the sheet feed tray 103 may beattached to the sheet laminator 200 a, so that the sheet laminator 200 ais used as a stand-alone machine similar to the sheet laminator 200 aillustrated in FIG. 24.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 is described indetail. As illustrated in FIG. 49, an image forming apparatus 300includes a housing 300A. The image forming apparatus 300 includes anintermediate transfer device 150 in the housing 300A. The intermediatetransfer device 150 includes an intermediate transfer belt 152 having anendless loop and being entrained around a plurality of rollers andstretched substantially horizontally. The intermediate transfer belt 152rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 49.

The image forming apparatus 300 further includes image forming devices154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C),and black (K), respectively, are disposed below the intermediatetransfer device 150 in the housing 300A. The image forming devices 154c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k are arranged in a quadruple tandem manneralong an extended direction of the intermediate transfer belt 152. Eachof the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k includes adrum-shaped image bearer that rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG.49. Various image forming components, for example, a charging device, adeveloping device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device, aredisposed around each of the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y,and 154 k. An exposure device 156 is disposed below the image formingdevices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300.

A sheet feeder 158 is disposed below the exposure device 156 in thehousing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300. The sheet feeder 158includes a first sheet tray 160 that stores lamination sheets S and asecond sheet tray 162 that stores inner sheets P. Note that the firstsheet feed tray 160 is an example of a third sheet loader on which atwo-ply sheet such as the lamination sheet S is loaded. Similarly, thesecond sheet feed tray 162 is an example of a fourth sheet loader onwhich a sheet medium (e.g., the inner sheet P) is loaded.

A first feed roller 166 is disposed at a position upper right of thefirst sheet feed tray 160. The first feed roller 166 feeds out thelamination sheet S one by one from the first sheet feed tray 160 to asheet conveyance passage 164. A second sheet feeding roller 168 isdisposed at the upper right of the second sheet tray 162 and feeds theinner sheets P from the second sheet tray 162 one by one to the sheetconveyance path 164.

The sheet conveyance passage 164 extends upwardly on the right side inthe housing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300 and communicateswith the sheet laminator 200 a provided in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300. The sheet conveyance passage 164 is providedwith, e.g., a conveyance roller 170, a secondary transfer device 174disposed facing the intermediate transfer belt 152, a fixing device 176,and a sheet ejection device 178 including an ejection roller pair,serially.

Note that the first feed roller 166, the conveyance roller 170, and thesheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a third sheet feeder tofeed the two-ply sheet from the first sheet feed tray 160 (third sheetloader). Further, the second feed roller 168, the conveyance roller 170,and the sheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a fourth sheetfeeder to feed a sheet medium from the second sheet feed tray 162(fourth sheet loader). Further, the intermediate transfer device 150 andthe fixing device 176 are examples of an image forming device that formsan image on a two-ply sheet or a sheet medium.

Next, a description is given of operations of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, to form an image onthe lamination sheet S and then perform a sheet laminating operation onthe lamination sheet S.

When forming an image on the lamination sheet S, firstly, an imagereading device 188 reads the image on an original document, and theexposure device 156 then performs image writing. Thereafter, the imageforming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k form respective colortoner images on the respective image bearers. Then, primary transferdevices 180 c, 180 m, 180 y, and 180 k sequentially transfer therespective toner images onto the intermediate transfer belt 152, therebyforming a color image on the intermediate transfer belt 152.

By contrast, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the first feedroller 166 to feed and convey the lamination sheet S to the sheetconveyance passage 164. Then, the lamination sheet S is conveyed by theconveyance roller 170 through the sheet conveyance passage 164 and issent to a secondary transfer position in synchrony with movement of thecolor image on the intermediate transfer belt 152. Then, the secondarytransfer device 174 transfers the color image formed on the intermediatetransfer belt 152 as described above, onto the lamination sheet S.

After the image has been transferred onto the lamination sheet S, thefixing device 176 fixes the image on the lamination sheet S to thelamination sheet S, and the sheet ejection device 178 ejects to conveythe lamination sheet S to the sheet laminator 200 a.

Further, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the second feed roller168 to feed the inner sheet P to the sheet conveyance passage 164, andthe sheet ejection device 178 ejects to convey the inner sheet P to thesheet laminator 200 a.

As described above, the lamination sheet S on which the image has beenformed and the inner sheet P are conveyed to the sheet laminator 200 a,so that the sheet laminating operation is performed by the sheetlaminator 200 a. Since the details of the sheet laminating operationhave been described above, the redundant descriptions are omitted.

According to the above-described configuration of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, the sheet laminator200 a may perform the sheet laminating operation after an image isformed on the inner sheet P. In addition, the sheet laminator 200 a mayperform the sheet laminating operation after the image forming operationhas been performed on the inner sheet P and the lamination sheet S.

The image forming apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 49 may include asheet processing device 100 that is removably attached to the imageforming apparatus 300. The configuration in which the sheet processingdevice 100 is detachably attachable can enhance convenience.

Further, an image forming system may include the image forming apparatus300, the sheet processing device 100 detachably attached to the imageforming apparatus 300 or the sheet laminator 200 detachably attached tothe image forming apparatus 300. The configuration in which the sheetprocessing device 100 is detachably attachable can enhance convenience.Furthermore, aspects of this disclosure can be embodied as a systemincluding at least one of a sheet feeder (a stacker) and a case bindingdevice or the like. Note that, in a case in which a lamination sheet Spasses through a fixing device 176, the lamination sheet S is not bondedat the fixing temperature but is bonded by application of heat higherthan the fixing temperature.

Although the image forming apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 49 employselectrophotography for image formation on the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P in the description above, the image formation method isnot limited to the above-described configuration. For example, inkjet,stencil printing, or other printing method may be employed in an imageforming apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C is a flowchart illustrating aseries of operations of feeding a lamination sheet, inserting an innersheet, performing or skipping laminate processing on the laminationsheet, and ejecting the lamination sheet. A description is given of theseries of operations, with reference to the reference numerals indicatedin the flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C.

First, in step S111 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to start feeding a laminationsheet S (see FIG. 24). In step S112 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 ofthe sheet processing device 100 determines whether the leading end ofthe lamination sheet S has reached the conveyance sensor C3 based on thedetection result of the conveyance sensor C3 (see FIG. 25). When theleading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C3 (NO in step S112 of FIG. 50A), step S12 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C3.By contrast, when the leading end of lamination sheet S has reached theconveyance sensor C3 (YES in step S112 of FIG. 50A), the series ofoperations in the flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50Cproceeds to step S113. In step S113 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800determines whether the lamination sheet S has been conveyed by thespecified amount from the conveyance sensor C3, that is, whether aspecified time has passed since the conveyance sensor C3 detects theleading end of the lamination sheet S. When the lamination sheet S hasnot been conveyed by the specified amount from the conveyance sensor C3(NO in step S113 of FIG. 50A), step S113 is repeated until thelamination sheet S is conveyed by the specified amount from theconveyance sensor C3. By contrast, when the lamination sheet S has beenconveyed by the specified amount from the conveyance sensor C3 (YES instep S113 of FIG. 50A), the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 causes the driver to temporarily stop conveying thelamination sheet S (see FIG. 26). For example, the “specified amount”used here and those in subsequent steps are stored in a memory by amanufacturer based on empirical data. Subsequently, the controller 800of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driver to open the gripper110 in step S114 of FIG. 50A. Then, the controller 800 causes the driverto convey the lamination sheet S in the reverse conveyance direction instep S115 of FIG. 50A (see FIG. 27).

In step S116 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S has been conveyedby a specified amount. When the lamination sheet S has not been conveyedby the specified amount (NO in step S116 of FIG. 50A), step S116 isrepeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specifiedamount. By contrast, when the lamination sheet S has been conveyed bythe specified amount (YES in step S116 of FIG. 50A), the controller 800causes the driver to temporarily stop conveying the lamination sheet Sin step S117 of FIG. 50A. In step S118 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800causes the driver to close the gripper 110 to grip the end of thelamination sheet S (see FIG. 28).

In step S119 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109 in thecounterclockwise direction (i.e., in the reverse direction) and wind thelamination sheet S around the winding roller 109 (see FIG. 29). In stepS120 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 determines whether the leading endof the lamination sheet S has reached at the conveyance sensor C5. Whenthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C5 (NO in step S120 of FIG. 50A), step S120 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C5.By contrast, when the leading end of sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S120 of FIG. 50A), the series of operations inthe flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C goes on tostep S121. In step S121 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S has beenconveyed by the specified amount from the conveyance sensor C5. When thelamination sheet S has not been conveyed by the specified amount fromthe conveyance sensor C5 (NO in step S121 of FIG. 50A), step S121 isrepeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specifiedamount from the conveyance sensor C5. By contrast, when the laminationsheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S121 of FIG. 50A), the controller 800 causes theabnormality state detector C4 to detect the state of the laminationsheet S in step S122 of FIG. 50A. Then, the controller 800 determineswhether the state of the lamination sheet S is normal based on thedetection results of the abnormality state detector C4 in step S123 ofFIG. 50A.

The abnormality state detector C4 is an abnormality detector to detectthe size of the gap between the two sheets of the lamination sheet S forthe sheet processing device 100 to determine whether the size of the gapexceeds the predetermined threshold. In step S123 of FIG. 50A, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 determines whether thestate of the lamination sheet S is normal, that is, whether the size ofthe gap between the two sheets of the lamination sheet S is equal to orgreater than the predetermined threshold based on the detection resultof the abnormality state detector C4. When the state of the laminationsheet S is normal (YES in step S123 of FIG. 50A), the series ofoperations in the flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50Cgoes on to step S124 a.

By contrast, when it is determined that the state of the laminationsheet S is abnormal, in other words, when the size of the gap is smallerthan the predetermined threshold (NO in step S123 of FIG. 50B), thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the operationpanel 10 to display the abnormality (e.g., displays an error message)and stops the series of operations of sheet processing job in step S124b of FIG. 50B.

In step S124 a of FIG. 50B, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 causes the driver to insert the separation claws 116 fromboth sides of the lamination sheet S into the gap between the sheets ofthe lamination sheet S (see FIG. 30). In step S125 of FIG. 50B, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driver torotate the winding roller 109 in the clockwise direction (i.e., in theforward direction) with the separation claws 116 inserted from bothsides of the lamination sheet S, and convey the lamination sheet S inthe forward conveyance direction.

Then, in step S126 of FIG. 50B, the controller 800 determines whetherthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5. When the leading end of the lamination sheet S has notreached the conveyance sensor C5 (NO in step S126 of FIG. 50B), stepS126 is repeated until the leading end of the lamination sheet S reachesthe conveyance sensor C5. By contrast, when the leading end of sheet Shas reached the conveyance sensor C5 (YES in step S126 of FIG. 50B), theseries of operations in the flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A,50B, and 50C goes on to step S127. In response to a determination thatthe lamination sheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount fromthe conveyance sensor C5 (“Yes” in S127), the controller 800 in thesheet processing device 100 controls the driver to open the gripper 110in step S128.

Then, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes thedriver to temporarily stop conveying the lamination sheet S after thelamination sheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount in stepS129 of FIG. 50B. Then, in step S130 of FIG. 50B, the controller 800causes the separation claws 116 to move further in the sheet widthdirection of the lamination sheet S (see FIG. 31). As a result, thetrailing end of the lamination sheet S in the forward conveyancedirection is separated into the upper and lower sheets.

In step S131, the controller 800 in the sheet processing device 100controls the driver to convey the lamination sheet S in the reverseconveyance direction. Then, in step S132 of FIG. 50B, the controller 800determines whether the leading end of the lamination sheet S in theforward conveyance direction has reached the conveyance sensor C5. Whenthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C5 (NO in step S132 of FIG. 50B), step S132 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C5.By contrast, when the leading end of sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S132 of FIG. 50B), the series of operations inthe flowchart of FIG. 50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C goes on tostep S133. In step S133 of FIG. 50B, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S has beenconveyed by a specified amount from the conveyance sensor C5. When thelamination sheet S has not been conveyed by the specified amount fromthe conveyance sensor C5 (NO in step S133 of FIG. 50B), step S133 isrepeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specifiedamount from the conveyance sensor C5. By contrast, when the laminationsheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S133 of FIG. 50B), the controller 800 causes thedriver to temporarily stop conveying the lamination sheet S in step S134of FIG. 50B (see FIG. 32). As a result, the separation of the laminationsheet S is completed.

Subsequently, in step S135 of FIG. 50C, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 determines whether to perform the image formingoperation (with an inline image forming apparatus) on the inner sheet Pto be inserted into the lamination sheet S. When the image formingoperation is performed with an inline image forming apparatus (YES instep S135 of FIG. 50C), the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 sends a signal to notify the inline image forming apparatusto start the print job (printing operation) to form an image on theinner sheet Pin step S136 of FIG. 50C. Then, the series of operationsmoves on to step S137 of FIG. 50C.

By contrast, when the image forming operation is not performed with aninline image forming apparatus (NO in step S135 of FIG. 50C), the seriesof operations moves on to step S137 of FIG. 50C.

In step S137 of FIG. 50C, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 causes the driver to convey the inner sheet P in the forwardconveyance direction to be inserted into the opened portion of thelamination sheet S (see FIGS. 33 and 34).

Next, in step S138, the sheet processing device 100 determines whetherto perform the fixing processing, and divides the subsequent processingaccording to the presence or absence of the fixing processing specifiedfor each sheet S by the operation panel 10 or the printer driver.

When the fixing processing is not performed, the process proceeds tostep S139, and the sheet processing device 100 determines whether thesheet processing device 100 has the sheet sorting mechanism 130. Whenthe sheet processing device 100 has the sheet sorting mechanism 130, theprocess proceeds to step S140. The sheet processing device 100 moves thesheet sorting mechanism 130 to the stack position of non-heat-pressedsheet (see FIGS. 47A, 47B, 47C). Next, the process proceeds to stepS141, and the sheet processing device 100 determines whether the sheetejection tray 104 has a lifting function. Even if the sheet processingdevice 100 does not have the sheet sorting mechanism 130 in step S139,the process proceeds to step S141. When the sheet ejection tray 104 hasa lifting function, the process proceeds to step S142. The sheetprocessing device 100 moves the sheet ejection tray 104 to the sheetejection port of the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126, which is anon-fixing path. In step S143, a lamination sheet S is ejected to thesheet ejection tray 104. Even when the sheet ejection tray 104 does nothave the lifting function in step S141, the sheet processing device 100proceeds to step S143 and ejects the lamination sheet S to the sheetejection tray 104.

Next, in step S144, the sheet processing device 100 switches the routeat the branch claw 118. In step S145, the lamination sheet S sandwichingthe inner sheet P is conveyed to the heat pressing device (fixing deviceMd), and heat and pressure are applied to complete the laminateprocessing (see FIG. 35B).

Next, in step S146, the sheet processing device 100 determines whetherthe sheet processing device 100 has the sheet sorting mechanism 130.When the sheet processing device 100 has the sheet sorting mechanism130, the process proceeds to step S147. The sheet processing device 100moves the sheet sorting mechanism 130 to the stack position ofheat-pressed sheet (see FIGS. 47A, 47B, 47C). Next, the process proceedsto step S148, and the sheet processing device 100 determines whether thesheet ejection tray 104 has a lifting function. Even if the sheetprocessing device 100 des no have the sheet sorting mechanism 130 (NO instep S146), the process proceeds to step S148. When the sheet ejectiontray 104 has a lifting function, the process proceeds to step S149. Thesheet processing device 100 moves the sheet ejection tray 104 to thesheet ejection port of the heat-pressing conveyance path 128, which is anon-fixing path. In step S143, a lamination sheet S is ejected to thesheet ejection tray 104. Even when the sheet ejection tray 104 does nothave the lifting function (NO in step S148), the sheet processing device100 proceeds to step S143 and ejects the lamination sheet S to the sheetejection tray 104.

As described above, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, in the sheet processing device 100, a sheet-shaped medium Pis sandwiched between a two-ply sheet S in which two sheets are overlaidand a part of the two sheets is bonded. The common sheet ejection tray104 is shaped as a plurality of ejection destinations of sheets, thusreducing the cost and size of the sheet processing device.

Next, a description is given of a sheet processing device according toaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference toFIG. 51. FIG. 51 is a schematic view illustrating the overallconfiguration of a sheet processing device according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure. A sheet processing device 100 according to thepresent embodiment is to separate two sheets (plies) of a two-ply sheet(hereinafter referred to as a lamination sheet S) and to insert andsandwich a sheet-shaped medium (hereinafter referred to as an innersheet P) between the separated sheets of the two-ply sheet.

The lamination sheet S is a two-ply sheet in which two sheets areoverlapped and bonded together at a portion (or a side) of the two-plysheet. For example, there is a two-ply sheet in which a first side is atransparent sheet such as a transparent polyester sheet and the oppositeside is a transparent or opaque sheet and bonded to the other sheet onone side of the two-ply sheet. The two-ply sheet also includes alamination film.

The inner sheet P (to be inserted) is an example of the sheet mediumthat is inserted into the two-ply sheet. The sheet medium may be, forexample, thick paper, postcards, envelopes, plain paper, thin paper,coated paper, art paper, tracing paper, and overhead projector (OHP)transparencies.

As illustrated in FIG. 51, a sheet processing device 100 includes asheet tray 102, a pickup roller 105, and a conveyance roller pair 107.The sheet tray 102 functions as a first sheet loader on which thelamination sheets S are placed. The pickup roller 105 feeds thelamination sheet S from the sheet tray 102. The sheet processing device100 further includes a sheet feed tray 103 as a second loader on whichthe inner sheet P is loaded, and a pickup roller 106 that feeds theinner sheet P from the sheet feed tray 103.

A conveyance sensor C1 is disposed downstream from the conveyance rollerpair 107 in the sheet conveyance direction to detect the sheetconveyance position of the lamination sheet S. A conveyance sensor C2 isdisposed downstream from the pickup roller 106 in the sheet conveyancedirection to detect the sheet conveyance position of the inner sheet P.

The sheet processing device 100 includes an entrance roller pair 108 asa first conveyor, a winding roller 109 as a rotator, the exit rollerpair 113 as a second conveyor, and the sheet ejection tray 104. Theentrance roller pair 108, the winding roller 109, the exit roller pair113, and the sheet ejection tray 104 are disposed downstream from theconveyance roller pair 107 and the pickup roller 106 in the sheetconveyance direction. The sheet processing device 100 further includes aseparation claw 116 between the winding roller 109 and the exit rollerpair 113. The separation claw 116 is movable in the width direction ofthe lamination sheet S.

A conveyance sensor C3 that detects the positions of a lamination sheetS and an inner sheet P being conveyed is disposed downstream from theentrance roller pair 108 in the sheet conveyance direction. Anabnormality detection sensor C4 that detects the state of the laminationsheet S is disposed downstream from the winding roller 109 in the sheetconveyance direction. A conveyance sensor C5 that detects the positionof the lamination sheet S being conveyed is disposed downstream from theexit roller pair 113 in the sheet conveyance direction.

The pickup roller 105, the conveyance roller pair 107, the entranceroller pair 108, and the winding roller 109 are examples of a firstfeeder. The pickup roller 106, the entrance roller pair 108 and thewinding roller 109 are examples of a second feeder.

An operation panel 10 is provided on the exterior of the sheetprocessing device 100. The operation panel 10 serves as adisplay-operation device to display information of the sheet processingdevice 100 and receives input of the operation of the sheet processingdevice 100. The operation panel 10 also serves as a notification deviceto output a perceptual signal to a user. As an alternative, anotification device other than the operation panel 10 may be separatelyprovided in the sheet processing device 100.

The sheet processing device 100 according to the present embodimentloads lamination sheets S and inner sheets P on separate trays. As alamination sheet S is conveyed in the sheet processing device 100, thesheet processing device 100 separates and opens the lamination sheet Sinto two sheets and inserts the inner sheet P into an opening of thelamination sheet S. The exit roller pair 113 ejects and stacks thelamination sheet S, in which the inner sheet P has been inserted, ontothe sheet ejection tray 104.

FIG. 52 is a schematic view illustrating the main part of the sheetprocessing device of FIG. 51. As illustrated in FIG. 52, each of theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113 is, for example,two rollers paired with each other and driven by a driver such as amotor. The controller 800 causes the driver to control rotations of theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The entranceroller pair 108 is driven to rotate in one direction. The exit rollerpair 113 rotates in forward and reverse directions, thereby nipping andconveying the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P.

The entrance roller pair 108 conveys the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P toward the exit roller pair 113. The sheet conveyancedirection indicated by arrow A in FIG. 52 is referred to as a forwardconveyance direction or a direction A.

The exit roller pair 113 can switch the direction of rotation betweenthe forward direction and the reverse direction. The exit roller pair113 conveys the lamination sheet S nipped by the rollers of the exitroller pair 113 toward the sheet ejection tray 104 (see FIG. 51) in theforward conveyance direction and also conveys the lamination sheet Stoward the winding roller 109 in the direction opposite the forwardconveyance direction (to convey the lamination sheet S in reverse). Thesheet conveyance direction toward the winding roller 109, which isindicated by arrow B in FIG. 4 and a direction opposite to the forwardconveyance direction, is referred to as a reverse conveyance directionor a direction B.

The sheet processing device 100 is provided with the winding roller 109as a rotator and the separation claw 116 that are disposed between theentrance roller pair 108 and the exit roller pair 113. The windingroller 109 is driven by a driver such as a motor to rotate in theforward and reverse directions. The direction of rotation of the windingroller 109 is switchable between the forward direction (clockwisedirection) and the reverse direction (counterclockwise direction). Thecontroller 800 controls the driver to control rotations of the windingroller 109 and operations of the separation claw 116.

The winding roller 109 includes a roller 111 and a gripper 110 movablydisposed on the roller 111 to grip the lamination sheet S. The gripper110 that is movable grips the leading end of the lamination sheet Stogether with the roller 111. The gripper 110 may be formed on the outercircumference of the roller 111 as a single unit or may be formed as aseparate unit. The controller 800 causes a driver to move the gripper110.

Next, a description is given of a series of operations performed in thesheet processing device 100, with reference to FIGS. 51 to 62B. Theseries of operations performed by the sheet processing device 100indicates the operations from separating the lamination sheet S toinserting the inner sheet P into the lamination sheet S. The controller800 controls the series of operations performed by the sheet processingdevice 100. Note that, in FIGS. 53 to 62B, elements identical to theelements illustrated in FIGS. 51 and 52 are given identical referencenumerals, and the descriptions these elements are omitted.

In FIG. 51, the lamination sheets S is loaded on the sheet tray 102 suchthat a part of the bonded side of the lamination sheet S is locateddownstream from the pickup roller 105 in the sheet feed direction (sheetconveyance direction). In the sheet processing device 100, the pickuproller 105 picks up the lamination sheet S from the sheet tray 102, andthe conveyance roller pair 107 conveys the lamination sheet S toward theentrance roller pair 108.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 52, the entrance roller pair 108 conveysthe lamination sheet S toward the winding roller 109. In the sheetprocessing device 100, the entrance roller pair 108 conveys thelamination sheet S with the bonded end, which is one of four sides ofthe lamination sheet S, as the downstream side in the forward conveyancedirection A as indicated by arrow A in FIG. 2.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 53, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 temporarily stops conveyance of the laminationsheet S when the trailing end of the lamination sheet S in the forwardconveyance direction has passed the winding roller 109. Note that theseoperations are performed by conveying the lamination sheet S from theconveyance sensor C3 by a specified amount in response to the timing atwhich the conveyance sensor C3 detected the leading end of thelamination sheet S.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 54, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the gripper 110 to open and the exit rollerpair 113 to rotate in the reverse direction to convey the laminationsheet S in the reverse conveyance direction (sheet conveyance directionB) toward the opened portion of the gripper 110.

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 55, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to stop rotatingto stop conveyance of the lamination sheet S when the end of thelamination sheet S is inserted into the opened portion of the gripper110 and causes the driver to close the gripper 110 to grip the end ofthe lamination sheet S. Note that these operations are performed whenthe lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specified amount.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 56, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 to wind the lamination sheetS around the winding roller 109. Here, the lamination sheet S is woundaround the winding roller 109 from the side where the two sheets of thelamination sheet S are overlapped but not bonded.

As illustrated in FIG. 57, when the lamination sheet S that is thetwo-ply sheet is wound around the winding roller 109, a windingcircumferential length difference is created between the two sheets inthe amount of winding of the lamination sheet S around the circumferenceof the winding roller 109. There is a surplus of the sheet on the innercircumferential side to the center of the winding roller 109, whichgenerates a slack toward the bonded end. As a result, a space is createdbetween the two sheets constructing the two-ply sheet. As the separationclaws 116 are inserted into the space generated as described above, fromboth sides of the lamination sheet S, the space between the two sheetsis reliably maintained. Note that these operations are performed byconveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by aspecified amount in response to the timing at which the conveyancesensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

Here, a description is given of the separation claw 116.

FIG. 63 is a schematic view illustrating the separation claw 116 of thesheet processing device 100. FIGS. 64A and 64B are schematic viewsillustrating an example of a drive configuration of the separation claw116. Further, FIG. 65 is a perspective view illustrating a state inwhich the separation claws 116 are inserted in the lamination sheet S.

As illustrated in FIG. 63, when viewed from the upstream side in thesheet conveyance direction, the size in the height (vertical direction)of the separation claw 116 gradually increases from the center in thewidth direction to the trailing end (right end in FIG. 63). Further,when viewed from the vertical direction, the size of the separation claw116 in the sheet conveyance direction gradually increases from theleading end to the center. When viewed from the width direction, theseparation claw 116 has a cross shape.

Further, in the present embodiment, referring to FIGS. 64A and 64B, thetwo separation claws 116 are disposed facing each other and moved in theapproaching direction and the separating direction, for example, by abelt drive mechanism as illustrated in FIG. 64A and by a rack and pinionmechanism illustrated in FIG. 64B.

As described above, in the present embodiment, each of the separationclaws 116 having the above-mentioned shape is movable in the widthdirection of the lamination sheet S. Accordingly, the separation claws116 are smoothly inserted into the gap created in the lamination sheet Sas illustrated in FIG. 65.

A description of a series of operations of the sheet processing device100 is continued below. With the separation claws 116 inserted in thespace in the lamination sheet S, the controller 800 in the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the clockwise direction (see FIG. 57). The controller 800 then causesthe space generated in the lamination sheet S to shift to the trailingend of the lamination sheet S in the forward conveyance direction (sheetconveyance direction A), as illustrated in FIG. 58. After the windingroller 109 has been rotated by a specified amount, the controller 800causes the driver to open the gripper 110. As a result, the trailing endof the lamination sheet S is separated into the upper and lower sheets.

In this state, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100causes the driver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the laminationsheet S and to further move the separation claws 116 in the widthdirection of the lamination sheet S to separate the whole area of thetrailing end of the lamination sheet S. Note that these operations areperformed by conveying the lamination sheet S from the conveyance sensorC5 by a specified amount in response to the timing at which theconveyance sensor C5 detected the leading end of the lamination sheet S.

FIG. 66 is a perspective view illustrating the separation claws 116 andthe lamination sheet S in the state illustrated in FIG. 58. Since eachseparation claw 116 further has a branching guide that functions as aguide to guide the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S indifferent directions due to the above-described shape (see FIG. 63), thetwo sheets separated from the lamination sheet S may be kept in posturesto be conveyed to different sheet conveyance passages.

Further, since the separation claws 116 are movable in the widthdirection (see FIGS. 64A and 64B), the separation claws 116 arepositioned suitably to support the postures of the two sheets of thelamination sheet S as illustrated in FIG. 67. Therefore, even when thesize of the lamination sheet S and the rigidity (or retentivitycorresponding to the propensity to retain a particular shape onceapplied, such as curvature of paper) of the lamination sheet S change,the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S are guided indesired branching directions. This configuration eliminates the need fora lamination sheet separating member over the whole area in the widthdirection of the sheet conveyance passage and a driver to drive thelamination sheet separating member, thereby reducing the cost whencompared with the configuration of a known sheet processing device.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 59, after the separation claws 116 haveseparated the whole area of the trailing end of the lamination sheet S,the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driverto rotate the exit roller pair 113 in the counterclockwise direction inFIG. 59 to convey the lamination sheet S in the reverse conveyancedirection (sheet conveyance direction B). That is, the separation claws116 guide the two sheets separated from the lamination sheet S in theupper and lower directions, respectively, and therefore the two sheetsare fully separated.

Then, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes thedriver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the lamination sheet S, sothat the bonded portion of the lamination sheet S is held (nipped) bythe exit roller pair 113. Accordingly, one end of the lamination sheet Sis bonded as the bonded side of the lamination sheet S and the other endof the lamination sheet S is opened largely.

Note that these operations are performed by conveying the laminationsheet S from the conveyance sensor C5 by a specified amount in responseto the timing at which the conveyance sensor C5 detected the leading endof the lamination sheet S.

Variation A description is given of the sheet processing device havinganother example of a sheet guide passage of the two sheets separatedfrom the lamination sheet S, with reference to FIGS. 68A, 68B, and 68C.FIGS. 68A, 68B, and 68C are schematic views, each illustrating anotherexample of a sheet guide passage of the two sheets separated from thesheet S. The sheet processing device 100 illustrated in FIG. 68A has thesame sheet guide passages as the sheet processing device 100 illustratedin FIG. 59 to guide the upper and lower sheets in the same directionfrom the bonded portion of the lamination sheet S. Alternatively, asillustrated in FIG. 68B, the sheet processing device 100 may have sheetguide passages extending in different directions in an inverted S shapeto guide the upper and lower sheets in different directions. Further, asillustrated in FIG. 68C, the sheet processing device 100 may have sheetguide passages extending in different directions in an S shape to guidethe upper and lower sheets in different directions which are oppositethe directions of the sheet guide passages in the sheet processingdevice 100 illustrated in FIG. 68B.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 60, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the entrance roller pair 108 to rotate toconvey the inner sheet P conveyed from the sheet feed tray 103 (see FIG.51) toward the exit roller pair 113 in the forward conveyance direction(sheet conveyance direction A).

Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 61, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the exit roller pair 113 to rotate so thatthe lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P converge to insert theinner sheet P into the lamination sheet S from the open portion (on theother end) of the lamination sheet S.

Then, as illustrated in FIG. 62A, the exit roller pair 113 of the sheetprocessing device 100 conveys the lamination sheet S in which the innersheet P is inserted, in the forward conveyance direction (sheetconveyance direction A). Thus, the two sheets of the lamination sheet Sare overlapped one on another again so as to close the open portion ofthe lamination sheet S. Then, a roller disposed downstream from the exitroller pair 113 ejects and stacks the lamination sheet S with the innersheet PM inserted, on the sheet ejection tray 104 (see FIG. 51).

As an alternative example, in a case in which a sheet processing deviceincludes a heat-pressure device capable of heating and pressing thelamination sheet S, as illustrated in FIG. 62B, a branching claw 118 maychange (switch) the sheet conveyance passage of the lamination sheet Sto convey the lamination sheet S to the heat-pressure device.

As described above, the controller 800 of the sheet processing device100 according to the present embodiment causes the driver to open thelamination sheet S so as to insert and nip the inner sheet P into thelamination sheet S. Accordingly, since the configuration of the sheetprocessing device 100 is simpler than the configuration of a typicalsheet laminator employing a vacuum device, the entire sheet processingdevice has a simpler and smaller configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 51, the sheet processing device 100 according tothe present embodiment loads the lamination sheet S and the inner sheetP on separate trays and feeds and conveys the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P separately. Accordingly, the convenience is enhancedwithout loading the lamination sheet S and the inner sheet P in thepredetermined order. Note that, in the present embodiment, thelamination sheet S is loaded on the sheet tray 102 and the inner sheet Pis loaded on the sheet feed tray 103. However, the tray on which thelamination sheet S is loaded and the tray on which the inner sheet P isloaded are not limited to the above-described trays. For example, theinner sheet P may be loaded on the sheet tray 102 and the laminationsheet S may be loaded on the sheet feed tray 103.

Next, a description is given of a sheet laminator, an image formingapparatus, and an image forming system, each including the sheetprocessing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 69 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of anexample of a sheet laminator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 69, the sheet laminator 200 includesthe sheet processing device 100 described above. The sheet laminator 200includes, for example, a sheet tray 102, heat-pressing rollers 120, aheat-pressing conveyance path 128, and a non-heat-pressing conveyancepath 126. The lamination sheet S is loaded on the sheet tray 102 in thelaminate processing mode. The heat-pressing roller 120 is a heatpressing member that heats and presses the lamination sheet S fed fromthe sheet tray 102. The heat-pressing conveyance path 128 is providedwith the heat-pressing rollers 120. The lamination sheet S is conveyedthrough the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 to a post-processingdevice 600 connected downstream of the sheet laminator 200 in the sheetconveyance direction. The post-processing device 600 is provided withthe non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. The lamination sheet S isconveyed to the post-processing device 600 connected downstream of thesheet laminator 200 in the sheet conveyance direction, without passingthrough the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. The sheet laminator200 includes a multi-feed detection sensor C6 and an ejection roller121. The multi-feed detection sensor C6 is disposed on a conveyance path125 located downstream from the sheet tray 102 in the sheet conveyancedirection. The multi-feed detection sensor C6 detects multi-feed ofsheets. The ejection roller 121 is disposed downstream from theheat-pressing roller 120 in the sheet conveyance direction. Here, themulti-feed detection sensor C6 may be an ultrasonic sensor.

The sheet laminator 200 performs a series of operations, in this order,of feeding the lamination sheet S, separating the lamination sheet S,inserting the inner sheet P into the lamination sheet S, and laminatingthe lamination sheet S with the inner sheet P being inserted, byapplication of heat and pressure, on a stand-alone basis. This series ofoperations is carried out automatically without any aid of a user, andtherefore the sheet laminator enhances and provides the conveniencebetter than a sheet laminator employing a known technique.

The sheet laminator 200 can be used even in a mode in which the laminateprocessing is not performed, and specifically, also has an inserterfunction. In other words, the sheet tray 102 can be used in two modes, alaminate processing mode and a non-laminate processing mode.Accordingly, there can be provided a sheet laminator that preventslaminate films from sticking to each other, is compact and easy to use,and has a plurality of post-processing functions. In the presentembodiment, two functions of an inserter and a laminator can be obtainedwithout adding a connection machine, and a device having thesepost-processing functions can be downsized. More specifically, when aprinted sheet or the like is inserted and stapled, a plurality ofpost-processing devices are connected to the downstream side and thesize of the entire system may be increased. However, according to thepresent embodiment, the sheet laminator 200 can feed not only laminatefilms but also printed sheets and the like, thus allowing downsizing ofthe system.

On the conveyance path 125 from the sheet tray 102, a trailing-enddetection sensor C8, a conveyance sensor C1, the multi-feed detectionsensor C6, and a standby position sensor C7 are arranged in this order.The trailing-end detection sensor C8 detects the trailing end of alamination sheet S. The conveyance sensor C1 detects the conveyanceposition of the lamination sheet S. The standby position sensor C7detects the standby position of the lamination sheet S.

A branch claw 118 is disposed downstream from a conveyance sensor C5 inthe sheet conveyance direction. The branch claw 118 switches thelamination sheet S to the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 or thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126. The non-heat-pressing conveyancepath 126 and the heat-pressing conveyance path 128 meet at a positionupstream from the ejection roller 121 in the sheet conveyance direction.Through the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126, the lamination sheetS is conveyed to the post-processing device 600 without passing throughthe heat-pressing conveyance path 128 provided with the heat-pressingrollers 120.

FIG. 70 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. An image forming apparatus 300according to the present embodiment includes a sheet laminator 200 a asa device that performs sheet lamination inside the image formingapparatus 300.

The sheet laminator 200 a includes the sheet tray 102 on which thelamination sheet S or the inner sheet P are loaded. The sheet laminator200 a is capable of receiving the lamination sheet S, the inner sheet P,or both from the image forming apparatus 300. Accordingly, the imageforming apparatus 300 (e.g., a printer or a copier) is capable of adding(forming) an image on the lamination sheet S or the inner sheet P by thein-line connection.

The configuration of the image forming apparatus 300 is described indetail. As illustrated in FIG. 70, the image forming apparatus 300includes a housing 300A. The image forming apparatus 300 includes anintermediate transfer device 150 in the housing 300A. The intermediatetransfer device 150 includes an intermediate transfer belt 152 having anendless loop and being entrained around a plurality of rollers andstretched substantially horizontally. The intermediate transfer belt 152rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 70.

The image forming apparatus 300 further includes image forming devices154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C),and black (K), respectively, are disposed below the intermediatetransfer device 150 in the housing 300A. The image forming devices 154c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k are arranged in a quadruple tandem manneralong an extended direction of the intermediate transfer belt 152. Eachof the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k includes adrum-shaped image bearer that rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG.70. Various image forming components, for example, a charging device, adeveloping device, a transfer device, and a cleaning device, aredisposed around each of the image forming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y,and 154 k. An exposure device 156 is disposed below the image formingdevices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300.

A sheet feeder 158 is disposed below the exposure device 156 in thehousing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300. The sheet feeder 158includes a first sheet tray 160 that stores lamination sheets S and asecond sheet tray 162 that stores inner sheets P. Note that the firstsheet feed tray 160 is an example of a third sheet loader on which atwo-ply sheet such as the lamination sheet S is loaded. Similarly, thesecond sheet feed tray 162 is an example of a fourth sheet loader onwhich a sheet medium (e.g., the inner sheet P) is loaded.

A first feed roller 166 is disposed at a position upper right of thefirst sheet feed tray 160. The first feed roller 166 feeds out thelamination sheet S one by one from the first sheet feed tray 160 to asheet conveyance passage 164. A second sheet feeding roller 168 isdisposed at the upper right of the second sheet tray 162 and feeds theinner sheets P from the second sheet tray 162 one by one to the sheetconveyance path 164.

The sheet conveyance passage 164 extends upwardly on the right side inthe housing 300A of the image forming apparatus 300 and communicateswith the sheet laminator 200 a provided in the housing 300A of the imageforming apparatus 300. The sheet conveyance passage 164 is providedwith, e.g., a conveyance roller 170, a secondary transfer device 174disposed facing the intermediate transfer belt 152, a fixing device 176,and a sheet ejection device 178 including an ejection roller pair,serially.

Note that the first feed roller 166, the conveyance roller 170, and thesheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a third sheet feeder tofeed the two-ply sheet from the first sheet feed tray 160 (third sheetloader). Further, the second feed roller 168, the conveyance roller 170,and the sheet conveyance passage 164 are examples of a fourth sheetfeeder to feed a sheet medium from the second sheet feed tray 162(fourth sheet loader). Further, the intermediate transfer device 150 andthe fixing device 176 are examples of an image forming device that formsan image on a two-ply sheet or a sheet medium.

Next, a description is given of operations of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, to form an image onthe lamination sheet S and then perform a sheet laminating operation onthe lamination sheet S.

When forming an image on the lamination sheet S, firstly, an imagereading device 188 reads the image on an original document, and theexposure device 156 then performs image writing. Thereafter, the imageforming devices 154 c, 154 m, 154 y, and 154 k form respective colortoner images on the respective image bearers. Then, primary transferdevices 180 c, 180 m, 180 y, and 180 k sequentially transfer therespective toner images onto the intermediate transfer belt 152, therebyforming a color image on the intermediate transfer belt 152.

By contrast, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the first feedroller 166 to feed and convey the lamination sheet S to the sheetconveyance passage 164. Then, the lamination sheet S is conveyed by theconveyance roller 170 through the sheet conveyance passage 164 and issent to a secondary transfer position in synchrony with movement of thecolor image on the intermediate transfer belt 152. Then, the secondarytransfer device 174 transfers the color image formed on the intermediatetransfer belt 152 as described above, onto the lamination sheet S.

After the image has been transferred onto the lamination sheet S, thefixing device 176 fixes the image on the lamination sheet S to thelamination sheet S, and the sheet ejection device 178 ejects to conveythe lamination sheet S to the sheet laminator 200 a.

Further, the image forming apparatus 300 rotates the second feed roller168 to feed the inner sheet P to the sheet conveyance passage 164, andthe sheet ejection device 178 ejects to convey the inner sheet P to thesheet laminator 200 a.

As described above, the lamination sheet S on which the image has beenformed and the inner sheet P are conveyed to the sheet laminator 200 a,so that the sheet laminating operation is performed by the sheetlaminator 200 a. Since the details of the sheet laminating operationhave been described above, the redundant descriptions are omitted.

According to the above-described configuration of the image formingapparatus 300 according to the present embodiment, the sheet laminator200 a may perform the sheet laminating operation after an image isformed on the inner sheet P. In addition, the sheet laminator 200 a mayperform the sheet laminating operation after the image forming operationhas been performed on the inner sheet P and the lamination sheet S.

Next, a description is given of a sheet laminator, an image formingapparatus, and an image forming system, each including the sheetprocessing device according to another example of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 71 is a schematic view illustrating the overall configuration of animage forming apparatus including a sheet laminator according to avariation of the present disclosure. An image forming apparatus 400illustrated in FIG. 71 is basically same as the image forming apparatus300 illustrated in FIG. 70. However, different from the image formingapparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 70, the image forming apparatus 400includes a main ejection roller pair 122 and a main ejection tray 123,each of which is provided in a housing 400A of the image formingapparatus 400.

When the sheet laminating operation is not performed, the image formingapparatus 400 may eject the recording medium on which the image isformed, by a main ejection roller pair 122 to a main ejection tray 123.Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 400 does not decrease the imageoutput speed when the sheet laminating operation is not performed.

Note that the image forming apparatus 400 may include the sheetlaminator 200 a in the housing 400A to be detachably attached to thehousing 400A. That is, when the sheet laminating operation is notrequired, the sheet laminator 200 a may be detached from the imageforming apparatus 400.

In addition, in the sheet laminator 200 a thus removed, the sheet feedtray 103 on which the inner sheet P is loaded and the pickup roller 106to feed the inner sheet P from the sheet feed tray 103 may be attachedto the sheet laminator 200 a, so that the sheet laminator 200 a is usedas a stand-alone machine similar to the sheet laminator 200 aillustrated in FIG. 69.

The image forming apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 70 and the imageforming apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 71 may include a sheetprocessing device instead of the sheet laminator 200 a. The imageforming apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 71 may include a sheetprocessing device that is removably attached to the image formingapparatus 400.

Further, an image forming system may include the image forming apparatus300 or 400, the sheet processing device 100 detachably attached to theimage forming apparatus 300 or 400 or the sheet laminator 200 detachablyattached to the image forming apparatus 300 or 400. Furthermore, anotherimage forming system may further include at least one of a sheet feeder(a stacker), a case binding device, or both. Note that, in a case inwhich a lamination sheet S passes through a fixing device 176, thelamination sheet S is not bonded at the fixing temperature but is bondedby application of heat higher than the fixing temperature.

Although the image forming apparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 70 and theimage forming apparatus 400 illustrated in FIG. 71 employelectrophotography for image formation on the lamination sheet S and theinner sheet P in the description above, the image formation method isnot limited to the above-described configuration. For example, inkjet,stencil printing, or other printing method may be employed in the imageforming apparatuses 300 and 400.

FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72C is a flowchart illustrating aseries of operations of feeding a lamination sheet, inserting an innersheet, and laminating the lamination sheet with the inner sheet beinginserted. A description is given of the series of operations, withreference to the reference numerals indicated in the flowchart of FIG.50 including FIGS. 50A, 50B, and 50C.

First, in step S211 of FIG. 50A, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to start feeding a laminationsheet S (see FIG. 51). In step S212 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800 ofthe sheet processing device 100 determines whether the leading end ofthe lamination sheet S has reached the conveyance sensor C3 based on thedetection result of the conveyance sensor C3 (see FIG. 52). When theleading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C3 (NO in step S212 of FIG. 72A), step S212 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C3.By contrast, when the leading end of lamination sheet S has reached theconveyance sensor C3 (YES in step S212 of FIG. 72A), the series ofoperations in the flowchart of FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72Cgoes on to step S213. In step S213 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800determines whether the lamination sheet S has been conveyed by thespecified amount from the sheet sensor C3, that is, whether a specifiedtime has passed since the sheet sensor C3 detects the leading end of thelamination sheet S. When the lamination sheet S has not been conveyed bythe specified amount from the sheet sensor C3 (NO in step S213 of FIG.72A), step S213 is repeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed bythe specified amount from the sheet sensor C3. By contrast, when thelamination sheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from thesheet sensor C3 (YES in step S213 of FIG. 72A), the controller 800 ofthe sheet processing device 100 causes the driver to temporarily stopconveying the lamination sheet S (see FIG. 53). For example, the“specified amount” used here and those in subsequent steps are stored ina memory by a manufacturer based on empirical data. Subsequently, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the driver toopen the gripper 110 in step S214 of FIG. 72A. Then, the controller 800causes the driver to convey the lamination sheet S in the reverseconveyance direction in step S215 of FIG. 72A (see FIG. 54).

In step S216 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S has been conveyedby a specified amount. When the lamination sheet S has not been conveyedby the specified amount (NO in step S216 of FIG. 72A), step S116 isrepeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specifiedamount. By contrast, when the lamination sheet S has been conveyed bythe specified amount (YES in step S216 of FIG. 72A), the controller 800causes the driver to temporarily stop conveying the lamination sheet Sin step S217 of FIG. 72A. In step S218 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800causes the driver to close the gripper 110 to grip the end of thelamination sheet S (see FIG. 55).

In step S219 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109 in thecounterclockwise direction (i.e., in the reverse direction) and wind thelamination sheet S around the winding roller 109 (see FIG. 56). In stepS220 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800 determines whether the leading endof the lamination sheet S has reached at the conveyance sensor C5. Whenthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C5 (NO in step S220 of FIG. 72A), step S220 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C5.By contrast, when the leading end of sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S220 of FIG. 72A), the series of operations inthe flowchart of FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72C goes on tostep S221. In step S221 of FIG. 72A, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S has beenconveyed by the specified amount from the conveyance sensor C5. When thelamination sheet S has not been conveyed by the specified amount fromthe conveyance sensor C5 (NO in step S221 of FIG. 72A), step S221 isrepeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed by the specifiedamount from the conveyance sensor C5. By contrast, when the laminationsheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S221 of FIG. 72A), the controller 800 causes theabnormality state detector C4 to detect the state of the laminationsheet S in step S222 of FIG. 72B. Then, the controller 800 determineswhether the state of the lamination sheet S is normal based on thedetection results of the abnormality state detector C4 in step S223 ofFIG. 72B.

The abnormality state detector C4 is an abnormality detector to detectthe size of the gap between the two sheets of the lamination sheet S forthe sheet processing device 100 to determine whether the size of the gapexceeds the predetermined threshold. In step S223 of FIG. 72B, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 determines whether thestate of the lamination sheet S is normal, that is, whether the size ofthe gap between the two sheets of the lamination sheet S is equal to orgreater than the predetermined threshold based on the detection resultof the abnormality state detector C4. When the state of the laminationsheet S is normal (YES in step S223 of FIG. 72B), the series ofoperations in the flowchart of FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72Cgoes on to step S224 a.

By contrast, when it is determined that the state of the laminationsheet S is abnormal, in other words, when the size of the gap is smallerthan the predetermined threshold (NO in step S223 of FIG. 72B), thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 causes the operationpanel 10 to display the abnormality (e.g., displays an error message)and stops the series of operations of sheet processing job in step S224b of FIG. 72B.

In step S224 a, the controller 800 in the sheet processing device 100controls the driver to insert, from both sides, the separation claws 116into the gap generated between the sheets of the lamination sheet S (seeFIG. 57). In step S225 of FIG. 72B, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 causes the driver to rotate the winding roller 109in the clockwise direction (i.e., in the forward direction) with theseparation claws 116 inserted from both sides of the lamination sheet S,and convey the lamination sheet S in the forward conveyance direction.

Then, in step S226 of FIG. 72B, the controller 800 determines whetherthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5. When the leading end of the lamination sheet S has notreached the conveyance sensor C5 (NO in step S226 of FIG. 72B), stepS226 is repeated until the leading end of the lamination sheet S reachesthe conveyance sensor C5. By contrast, when the leading end of sheet Shas reached the conveyance sensor C5 (YES in step S226 of FIG. 72B), theseries of operations in the flowchart of FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A,72B, and 72C goes on to step S227. In step S227 of FIG. 72B, thecontroller 800 of the sheet processing device 100 determines whether thelamination sheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from thesheet sensor C5. When the lamination sheet S has not been conveyed bythe specified amount from the sheet sensor C5 (NO in step S227 of FIG.72B), step S227 is repeated until the lamination sheet S is conveyed bythe specified amount from the sheet sensor C5. By contrast, when thelamination sheet S has been conveyed by the specified amount from thesheet sensor C5 (YES in step S227 of FIG. 72B), the controller 800causes the driver to open the gripper 110 in step S228 of FIG. 72B.

In step S229, the controller 800 in the sheet processing device 100controls the driver to temporarily stop the conveyance of the laminationsheet S and, in step S230, move the separation claws 116 further in thesheet width direction (see FIG. 58). As a result, the trailing end ofthe lamination sheet S in the forward conveyance direction is separatedinto the upper and lower sheets.

In step S231, the controller 800 in the sheet processing device 100controls the driver to convey the lamination sheet S in the reverseconveyance direction. Then, in step S232 of FIG. 72B, the controller 800determines whether the leading end of the lamination sheet S in theforward conveyance direction has reached the conveyance sensor C5. Whenthe leading end of the lamination sheet S has not reached the conveyancesensor C5 (NO in step S232 of FIG. 72B), step S232 is repeated until theleading end of the lamination sheet S reaches the conveyance sensor C5.By contrast, when the leading end of sheet S has reached the conveyancesensor C5 (YES in step S232 of FIG. 72B), the series of operations inthe flowchart of FIG. 72 including FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72C goes on tostep S233. In step S233, the controller 800 in the sheet processingdevice 100 determines whether the lamination sheet S is conveyed by thespecified amount after the conveyance sensor C5 detects the leading endof the lamination sheet S. In response to a determination that thelamination sheet S is conveyed by the specified amount from theconveyance sensor C5 (“Yes” in step S233), the controller 800 suspendsthe sheet conveyance in step S234 (see FIG. 59). As a result, theseparation of the lamination sheet S is completed.

Subsequently, in step S235 of FIG. 72C, the controller 800 of the sheetprocessing device 100 determines whether to perform the image formingoperation (with an inline image forming apparatus) on the inner sheet Pto be inserted into the lamination sheet S. When the image formingoperation is performed with an inline image forming apparatus (YES instep S235 of FIG. 72C), the controller 800 of the sheet processingdevice 100 sends a signal to notify the inline image forming apparatusto start the print job (printing operation) to form an image on theinner sheet Pin step S236 of FIG. 72C. Then, the series of operationsmoves on to step S237 of FIG. 72C.

By contrast, when the image forming operation is not performed with aninline image forming apparatus (NO in step S235 of FIG. 72C), the seriesof operations moves on to step S237 of FIG. 72C.

In S237, the sheet processing device 100 conveys the inner sheet P inthe forward conveyance direction to be inserted in the opening of thelamination sheet S (see FIGS. 60 and 61).

Then, in step S238 of FIG. 72B, the controller 800 causes the driver torotate the branch claw 118 to switch (change) the sheet conveyancepassage of the lamination sheet S. In step S239, the lamination sheet Ssandwiching the inner sheet P is conveyed to the heat pressing device(fixing device Md), and heat and pressure are applied to complete thelaminate processing (see FIG. 62B).

FIG. 73 is a schematic view illustrating an image forming systemincluding a sheet laminator according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. An image forming system 500 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure includes an image forming apparatus 300, a sheetlaminator 200 inside the image forming apparatus 300, and apost-processing device 600 disposed downstream from the sheet laminator200 in the sheet conveyance direction. The post-processing device 600can staple, for example, printed sheets. The image forming apparatus 300according to the present embodiment is the same as the image formingapparatus 300 illustrated in FIG. 70, and some details are omitted inFIG. 73.

FIG. 74 is a diagram illustrating an example of a function selectionscreen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to the presentembodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 74, the user can select whether toperform the laminate processing by selecting ON and OFF on the operationscreen of the image forming apparatus 300, and can also select the sizeof a lamination film. For the operation screen of the image formingapparatus 300, the operation panel 10 installed on the exterior portionof the sheet processing device 100 or the sheet laminator 200 can beused. As described above, the sheet laminator 200 has a switching devicethat switches between a laminate processing mode and a non-laminateprocessing mode. Such a configuration allows the user to make any printsettings. In this example, the user first selects “lamination” from theoperation panel 10, selects the laminate processing “ON”, and selects“A4” as the “lamination film size”.

When the laminate processing is performed, a series of operationsdescribed above in relation to FIGS. 72A, 72B, and 72C is performed. Onthe other hand, when the laminate processing is not performed, the sheetlaminator 200 conveys a sheet S conveyed from the image formingapparatus 300 so that the sheet S passes through the non-heat-pressingconveyance path 126 without passing through the heat-pressing rollers120. Thus, the sheet S is ejected to the post-processing device 600downstream in the sheet conveyance direction. Providing thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 in the sheet laminator 200 allowsthe next print job to be started without waiting for the heat-pressingroller 120 to cool down after the laminate processing of the sheet S.Thus, an advantage can be obtained that the waiting time of the user canbe shortened.

FIG. 75 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an example of asheet laminator including the sheet processing device according to anembodiment of the present disclosure. As described above, the sheet tray102 can be used in two modes, a laminate processing mode and anon-laminate processing mode. In the non-laminate processing mode, asillustrated in FIG. 75, the sheet laminator 200 according to the presentembodiment includes insertion sheets I loaded on the sheet tray 102 andhas a configuration as an inserter having an insertion function. Thesheet laminator 200 inserts the insertion sheets I before or aftersheet-shaped media conveyed from the image forming apparatus 300 andconveyed to the post-processing apparatus 600. The image formingapparatus 300 is connected to the upstream side of the sheet laminator200 in the sheet conveyance direction. The insert sheet I is a printedsheet or an unprinted sheet. Thus, the sheet laminator 200 can functionas an inserter without increasing the number of sheet trays.

FIG. 76 is a diagram illustrating an example of an insert processingsetting screen displayed on the image forming apparatus according to thepresent embodiment. An operation panel 10 installed on the exterior ofthe sheet processing device 100 can be used for the setting screen ofthe insert processing of the image forming apparatus 300. Accordingly,the user can operate the operation panel 10 to determine the size of aninsertion sheet I loaded on the sheet tray 102 and the order of theinsertion sheet I to be inserted between the lamination sheets Sconveyed from the image forming apparatus 300. In this example, the userfirst selects “insertion”, selects the insert processing “ON”, selects“A4 landscape” as the insertion sheet size, and selects “cover” as theinsert position.

In the insert processing, when a plurality of sheets S are conveyed fromthe image forming apparatus 300, the insertion sheet I loaded on thesheet tray 102 can be inserted at the position set at the insertposition. Accordingly, the post-processing apparatus 600 can performpost-processing on a sheet bundle including the insertion sheet I.

The sheet laminator 200 illustrated in FIG. 75 has a function ofdetermining whether a sheet loaded on the sheet tray 102 matches theselected processing setting. For example, the sheet laminator 200 stopsa sheet when the sheet fed from the sheet tray 102 reaches the standbyposition sensor C7, and the multi-feed detection sensor C6 as adetermination device determines whether the sheet is one sheet or aplurality of sheets. As a result of the determination, the sheetlaminator 200 determines that the sheet fed from the sheet tray 102 is asheet-shaped medium if there is one sheet, and determines that the sheetis a lamination film if there are a plurality of sheet. If the sheetloaded on the sheet tray 102 is different from the selected printsetting, the sheet laminator 200 determines as abnormality and notifiesthe user of the occurrence of an error. For example, a beep sound isgenerated or an error display is displayed on the operation screen(operation panel 10) of the image forming apparatus 300. Such aconfiguration can prevent erroneous operation by the user.

Here, the multi-feed detection sensor C6 may be an ultrasonic sensor.Thus, the function as the determination device can be enhanced, and thesheet-shaped medium and the lamination film can be reliablydistinguished.

When it is determined that there is an abnormality, the sheet laminator200 may stop conveying a sheet S conveyed from the sheet tray 102. Sucha configuration can reduce waste of the lamination film or sheet-shapedmedium due to erroneous operation by the user. At this time, the sheet Sstopped inside the sheet laminator 200 can be ejected to thepost-processing device 600 through the non-heat-pressing conveyance path126 by switching the branch claw 118. Such a configuration can reducethe trouble of the user removing the sheet S inside the sheet laminator200.

Further, when it is determined that there is an abnormality, the sheet Sconveyed from the sheet tray 102 may be ejected without stopping. Such aconfiguration allows the user to reduce the trouble of jam removalprocessing.

If the trailing end of the sheet S does not pass through thetrailing-end detection sensor C8 when it is determined that there is anabnormality, the trailing end of the sheet S does not interfere with thestacked sheets S. Accordingly, the sheet S can be returned to the sheettray 102 by reversely rotating the conveyance roller pair 107 serving asthe conveyor. Such a configuration can reduce the time and effort forthe user to process the jam and return the ejected sheet. The trailingend position of the sheet S may be estimated from the standby positionsensor C7 and the sheet size.

FIGS. 77 and 78 are diagrams illustrating examples of an error displaydisplayed on the operation panel 10 of the image forming apparatus 300.FIG. 77 illustrates an error display in a case where it is determinedthat the laminate film is not set in a state where the laminateprocessing is selected. In this example, a message “laminate processingis selected, but no lamination film is set. Set lamination film and tryagain.” is displayed.

FIG. 78 illustrates an error display when it is determined that thelamination film is set with the insert processing selected. In thisexample, a message “insert processing is selected, but lamination filmis set. Set sheet and tray again.” is displayed. Thus, the user cancheck the sheets loaded on the sheet tray 102 according to such errordisplay, reset the sheets, and then start printing again.

FIGS. 79A and 79B is a flowchart illustrating a series of operations inan image forming system 500 from the selection of the laminateprocessing or the insert processing to the ejection of a sheet to thepost-processing device 600. First, in step S251, when the laminateprocessing or the insert processing is set on the operation panel 10 ofthe image forming apparatus 300 (YES in S251), the sheet laminator 200feeds a sheet from the sheet tray 102 before the image forming apparatus300 starts the print job (S252).

Next, when the fed sheet reaches the standby position sensor C7 (S253),the sheet laminator 200 stops the sheet conveyance (S254), and thecontroller 800 determines, with the multi-feed detection sensor C6,whether the conveyed sheet is a lamination film (S255).

When the combination of the set processing and the conveyed sheet doesnot match (NO in S256), the sheet laminator 200 restarts the sheetconveyance (S258) while determining that it is abnormal (S257), conveysthe sheet to the heat-pressed conveyance path 126 (S259), ejects thesheet to the post-processing device 600 (S260), and sends an errornotification to the image forming apparatus 300 (S261). Upon receivingthe error notification, the image forming apparatus 300 displays anerror screen on the operation panel 10.

Alternatively, when the combination of the set processing and theconveyed sheet matches (YES in S256), the set processing is the laminateprocessing, and the conveyed sheet is a lamination film (YES in S262),the controller 800 of the sheet laminator 200 restarts conveying thesheet (S263), and performs the sheet separating operation describedabove (S264). After the lamination sheet separating operation iscompleted (S265), the controller 800 notify a print job start of theimage forming apparatus 300 (S266). The sheet laminator 200 inserts aninner sheet P into separated lamination sheet S (S267), conveys thelamination sheet S to the heat-pressing rollers 120 (fixing device Md),and performs the laminate processing (S268). Next, the lamination sheetS is ejected to the post-processing device 600 (S269).

Alternatively, when the combination of the set processing and theconveyed sheet matches (YES in S256), the set processing is the insertprocessing, and the conveyed sheet is a sheet-shaped medium (sheet ofpaper) (NO in S262), the sheet laminator 200 notifies the image formingapparatus 300 of the start of the print job (S270). Then, until thenumber of sheet-shaped media conveyed from the image forming apparatus300 matches the number set as the insert position (NO in S271), thesheet-shaped medium conveyed from the image forming apparatus 300 isejected to the post-processing apparatus 600 through thenon-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 (S274). When the number ofsheet-shaped media conveyed from the image forming apparatus 300 matchesthe number of sheets set as the insert position (YES in S271), thecontroller 800 restarts the conveyance of the sheet (S272). The sheet isejected to the post-processing device 600 (S269) through theheat-pressing conveyance path 126 (S273).

The controller 800 determines whether the selected mode matches thesheet loaded on the sheet tray 102 by the sheet determination process instep S255, and then notifies the image forming apparatus 300 of thestart of the print job (S266, S270). Such a configuration can avoid theoccurrence of jam inside the image forming apparatus 300 when an erroroccurs.

Alternatively, when neither the laminate processing nor the insertprocessing is selected (NO in S251), the printing operation of the imageforming apparatus 300 is started (S275). The sheet laminator 200 causesthe sheet-shaped medium conveyed from the image forming apparatus 300 topass through the non-heat-pressing conveyance path 126 (S276) and beejected to the post-processing apparatus 600 (S269).

As described above, the sheet laminator 200 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure allows insertion sheets I to be loaded and fedfrom the sheet tray 102 that loads and feeds lamination films are loadedand fed, and thus has the laminate processing mode in which the laminateprocessing is performed and the insert processing mode in which aninsertion sheet I is inserted without performing laminate processing.Accordingly, two functions of an inserter and a laminator can beobtained without adding a connection machine, and a device having thesepost-processing functions can be downsized. Accordingly, there can beprovided a sheet laminator that prevents laminate films from sticking toeach other, is compact and easy to use, and has a plurality ofpost-processing functions.

The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit thepresent disclosure. Thus, numerous additional modifications andvariations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example,elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may becombined with each other and/or substituted for each other within thescope of the present disclosure. The elements of the above-describedembodiments can be modified without departing from the gist of thepresent disclosure, and can be appropriately determined according to theapplication form.

Any one of the above-described operations may be performed in variousother ways, for example, in an order different from the one describedabove.

Each of the functions of the described embodiments may be implemented byone or more processing circuits or circuitry. Processing circuitryincludes a programmed processor, as a processor includes circuitry. Aprocessing circuit also includes devices such as an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), and conventional circuit componentsarranged to perform the recited functions.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A sheet processing device configured tosandwich a sheet-shaped medium in a two-ply sheet in which two sheetsare overlaid and partially bonded, the sheet processing devicecomprising: a separator configured to separate the two sheets of thetwo-ply sheet; a conveyor disposed downstream from the separator in asheet conveyance direction and configured to convey the two-ply sheet;and a switching member disposed downstream from the conveyor in thesheet conveyance direction and configured to switch a conveyance path ofthe two-ply sheet to convey the two-ply sheet to a fixing path on whichfixing processing is performed on the two-ply sheet or a non-fixing pathon which no fixing processing is performed on the two-ply sheet.
 2. Thesheet processing device according to claim 1, further comprisingcircuitry configured to perform: a laminate processing mode in which thesheet-shaped medium is sandwiched between the two sheets of the two-plysheet, the two-ply sheet is conveyed to the fixing path, and laminateprocessing is performed on the two-ply sheet; and a sheet-shaped mediuminsertion mode in which the sheet-shaped medium is sandwiched betweenthe two sheets and the two-ply sheet is conveyed to the non-fixing pathand ejected.
 3. The sheet processing device according to claim 1,further comprising an operation panel configured to select whether toconvey the two-ply sheet to the fixing path or the non-fixing path. 4.The sheet processing device according to claim 1, further comprising: afixing device disposed on the fixing path; a detector configured todetect an abnormality in the fixing device; and circuitry configured tocontrol processing of the two-ply sheet according to a detection resultof the abnormality.
 5. The sheet processing device according to claim 4,wherein when the detector detects the abnormality in the fixing devicedisposed on the fixing path, the circuitry is configured to cause theconveyor to convey the two-ply sheet to the non-fixing path.
 6. Thesheet processing device according to claim 4, wherein when the detectordetects the abnormality in the fixing device disposed on the fixingpath, the circuitry is configured to cause the conveyor to convey thetwo-ply sheet to the non-fixing path with the sheet-shaped mediuminserted in the two-ply sheet.
 7. The sheet processing device accordingto claim 4, wherein when the detector detects the abnormality in thefixing device disposed on the fixing path, the circuitry is configuredto cause the conveyor to convey the two-ply sheet and the sheet-shapedmedium separately to the non-fixing path.
 8. A sheet laminatorcomprising: the sheet processing device according to claim 1; and aheat-pressing member configured to heat and press the two-ply sheet. 9.An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet processing deviceaccording to claim
 1. 10. An image forming system comprising the imageforming apparatus according to claim 9.